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September 2013
Satellite launch to extend IN THIS ISSUE FleetBroadband capabilities satcoms The successful launch of Inmarsat’s Alphasat satellite will see the company Flat antenna for maritime able to extend the capacity of its FleetBroadband network – while also providing satcoms – 4 a welcome counterpoint to worries over whether a Proton rocket failure could Thuraya delivers MBB in Asia – 10 cause the launch of the company’s Global Xpress programme to be delayed Polar VSAT – the next step in
n eventful summer at To start on a positive note, the slot for several weeks while Inmarsat, Arctic broadband – 16 Inmarsat has seen the com- I-4A F4 launch of Alphasat, a together with ESA (European Space AApany mix triumph with trep- telecommunications satellite which Agency), continues testing the tele- Maritime bandwidth – full speed idation, as its successful launch of the will complement Inmarsat’s L-band com payload, the backup units on the ahead or steady as she goes? – 20 latest satellite in its constellation, FleetBroadband network, should Alphabus platform and ESA’s four Alphasat, was preceded by market provide a significant boost to per- hosted payloads. worries about the launch provider it formance and availability of Inmarsat, which owns and oper- software has selected for the introduction of FleetBroadband services in the ates Alphasat, has invested $350 mil- Global Xpress (GX). Europe, Middle East and Africa lion into what it calls one of the most region, where traffic is currently technically advanced telecommunica- CSCL equips containerships heaviest. tions satellites ever constructed for with ECO-Assistant – 22 An Ariane 5 rocket carrying the civilian applications. spacecraft took off on July 25 from the The satellite has previously been Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, called an ‘I4-and-a-half’, given that it Maritime technology R&D French Guiana, and a successful will be used to augment the existing venture in Japan – 29 spacecraft separation was achieved I4 satellite network used to provide 27 minutes and 45 seconds into the FleetBroadband services since 2009, Steaming into the cloud – 30 mission. The Alphasat Mission extending the life of the fleet and pro- Operations Team confirmed that they viding additional redundancy. had taken command of the satellite “Alphasat will strengthen our electronics and shortly afterwards. existing I-4 series satellite constella- I-4A F4 was placed in a temporary tion, providing coverage over navigation position in the geostationary ring at Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” the beginning of August, where it said Rupert Pearce, CEO of Inmarsat. ECDIS training – deployed its 11m-diameter main “The launch demonstrates antenna. The satellite has also suc- Inmarsat’s long-term commitment to the reality – 40 cessfully deployed its twin four-panel L-band services, and marks a signifi- solar wings, spanning 40m. cant milestone in the evolution of Getting more from VDR – 44 The solar panels rotate automati- Inmarsat’s flagship satellite fleet, cally, following the Sun, while bringing new capabilities both in The importance of Alphasat’s attitude control system terms of performance and resource BNWAS – 46 tracks its position above Earth. availability.” Alphasat was successfully launched At the time of going to press the Alphasat was designed and manu- The case for early ECDIS – 48 at the end of July satellite was scheduled to stay in this factured by Astrium, and Inmarsat continued on page 2
“Ready for the Internet” www.reformstudio.no Captain Victorio Velonza, Q.C. Manager, Ishima Shipmanagement Singapore
Ishima International Shipmangement in Singapore operates 27 ships in world wide trade. Captain Victorio Velonza has already installed Dualog Connection Suite on all the ships with a clear plan to move forward.
“Our experience with Dualog is a combination of a user-friendly system and people you can trust. As we are now looking forward to introducing Internet onboard, we know that Dualog Connection Suite will provide exactly what we need to manage and take control in an eff ective way”, concludes a smiling Captain Velonza.
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SATCOMS
continued from page 1 says that it is the largest and most sophis- ticated European telecommunications satellite ever built. It is also the largest Public-Private-Partnership space project Vol 14 No 1 in Europe, notes Inmarsat, which has teamed up with the European Space Digital Ship Limited Agency (ESA) to carry it out. 2nd Floor, Commercial operations on the 2-5 Benjamin Street, Alphasat satellite are expected to begin London EC1M 5QL , U.K. during Q4 of this year. www.thedigitalship.com GX delay fears PUBLISHER The success of the Alphasat launch pro- Stuart Fryer vided a timely boost to Inmarsat, coming EDITOR just a few short weeks after the explosion Rob O'Dwyer: Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 3410 of a satellite launch attempt by a Proton M email: [email protected] rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan had prompted fears that the The satellite’s twin four-panel solar wings span 40m. Photo: ESA SENIOR NEWS REPORTER introduction of Inmarsat’s Ka-band Global Cecile Brisson: Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 3405 Xpress network could be delayed. email: [email protected] International Launch Services (ILS) has This uncertainty over the launch of the phase, where it will be subjected to the been contracted by Inmarsat to provide GX programme led to a drop in Inmarsat’s void of space and the large temperature CONFERENCE PRODUCER launch services for all three launches of its share price, which had closed at 695p on variations it will experience in orbit. Cathy Hodge: Tel +44 (0) 20 7253 2700 GX satellites, also using the Proton launch July 2nd before the news broke but fell to Inmarsat says that these tests are email: [email protected] vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. 663p by the close of trading on July 3rd – a designed to ensure that the satellite can ADVERTISING The first of these GX launches is cur- drop of approximately 4.5 per cent. operate reliably for its projected life cycle Ria Kontogeorgou: Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 3401 rently scheduled for the fourth quarter of However, subsequent positive financial of more than 15 years. email: [email protected] 2013, but the failure of this most recent results as well as an increase in dividends The second and third Inmarsat-5 satel- launch has led to renewed concerns over to shareholders have since more than com- lites, currently in development by Boeing EXHIBITION SALES the viability of the Proton rocket for pensated for this drop, with the share Space & Intelligence Systems, will endure Young Suk Park: Tel: +44 (0)20 3287 9317 these flights. price having climbed above 720p at the similar testing prior to the launch. email: [email protected] The launch of the Proton M/Block time of going to press, well above its level “With each passing test, another step PRODUCTION DM-03 mission with three Glonass navi- prior to the Proton failure. in the process is completed and we move gational satellites for the Russian Federal forward to launching the satellites that Vivian Chee: Tel: +44 (0)20 8995 5540 GX developments email: [email protected] Government resulted in a failure when, will power the first global Ka-band about ten seconds after lift-off, the rocket Despite the issues with the Proton launch broadband network over satellite,” con- EVENTS MANAGER veered off of its flight path and returned vehicle, Inmarsat has been able to cluded Mr Carnevale. Jo McGhee to earth. announce a number of positive recent Inmarsat has also recently agreed a new Tel: +44 (0)20 7017 3412 This most recent failure is the third developments for its GX programme. strategic partnership with RigNet, a sat- email: [email protected] troubled launch for the Proton M rocket in The company reported that the first com services provider to oil and gas mar- the last twelve months. fully assembled Inmarsat-5 Ka-band kets, which will see RigNet become a CONSULTANT WRITER In August 2012 a mission to launch satellite, which will be used to provide Global Xpress distribution partner for the Dr Andy Norris (navigation) Indonesian and Russian telecommunica- the Global Xpress service, has successful- global energy sector. [email protected] tion satellites failed to deliver them into ly completed mechanical testing at Inmarsat says that RigNet has entered DIGITAL SHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS orbit, while a December 2012 launch of Boeing’s manufacturing facility in El into to a “significant four-year Global €180 per year for 10 issues another Russian satellite was hampered Segundo, California, and that the satel- Xpress capacity pre-purchase” agreement contact [email protected], by a premature separation of the satellite lite is now ready to move to the next as part of the deal. or phone Stephan Venter on: from the rocket. phase of testing as preparations continue As part of the partnership agreement +44 (0)20 7017 3407 Inmarsat has said that it is currently for launch. Inmarsat has also agreed to sell to RigNet awaiting the outcome of an investigation The recently completed tests included a its retail energy operations, currently DIGITAL SHIP JAPAN into the failure of the Proton launch vehi- simulated launch, which was designed to managed within the Inmarsat Solutions The Capitol Hotel Tokyu, Tokyo cle, and notes that, “while it is too early to expose the spacecraft to the environmental Enterprise business unit, for a total con- 3-4 September 2013 determine any schedule impact of the fail- conditions it will be subjected to during sideration of US$25 million. DIGITAL SHIP SINGAPORE ure, there is a risk of a short delay to the the actual launch. The sale will include Inmarsat’s Suntec, Singapore launch of the first Inmarsat-5 satellite, and “This is a very important and signifi- microwave and WiMAX networks in the 1-2 October 2013 therefore, to the start of GX services.” cant milestone in the construction and test US Gulf of Mexico serving drillers, pro- Inmarsat CEO Rupert Pearce expressed DIGITAL SHIP HONG KONG cycle of the spacecraft as we progress with ducers and energy vessel owners, its KITEC, Kowloon “disappointment and obvious concern” the test programme and move forward to VSAT interests in Russia, the UK, the US 30-31 October 2013 over the Proton situation, but believes that launch day,” said Franco Carnevale, and Canada, its telecommunications sys- the company can still be positive about its Inmarsat’s vice president for satellite and tems integration business operating launch plans for two main reasons. launch vehicles. worldwide, and its retail L-band energy Printed by “(Firstly), Proton has a very good track “Exposing the satellite to the realities of satcoms business. The Manson Group Ltd record of resolving failures and quickly the launch experience allows us to know "We are excited about this partnership Reynolds House, 8 Porters' Wood restarting operations with the industrial with confidence that it can withstand the as it enhances the strategic positioning of Valley Road Industrial Estate capacity to minimise delays - indeed, this both companies as we seek to address the St Albans, Hertz AL3 6PZ real thing.” U.K. is one of the key reasons why we picked During the testing process, a 'shaker' communications needs of the global ener- Proton in the first place,” he said. unit was deployed to simulate the vibra- gy sector together,” said Mr Pearce. No part of this publication may be repro- “After the last failure Proton success- tions induced by the rocket’s engine thrust “RigNet is the perfect partner for duced or stored in any form by any mechanical, electronic, photocopying, fully returned to flight about three months and its ‘cut-off’ at stage separation. Inmarsat, supporting a large customer recording or other means without the later. If you allow for a normal period Additionally, a concrete reinforced base of oil and gas VSAT customers, prior written consent of the publisher. between Proton launches then this points chamber blasted the spacecraft with whom we expect to be at the forefront of Whilst the information and articles in to a short delay risk for the first satellite of acoustic waves, much like those which the transition to Global Xpress services. Digital Ship are published in good faith perhaps a couple of months.” will impact the rocket and its payload dur- We also welcome the opportunity to work and every effort is made to check accura- “Second, as our satellite manufacturing ing lift-off. with RigNet’s management team with its cy, readers should verify facts and state- programme is very much on track, a delay Following the shaking and blasting extensive knowledge of VSAT operations ments direct with official sources before acting on them as the publisher can to the first launch does not mean the same processes, all mechanical appendages on and customers.” accept no responsibility in this respect. for the second and third launches. There is the satellite were deployed and tested. “This partnership prepares the way Any opinions expressed in this maga- still the expectation that global coverage The company says that the Inmarsat-5 for a fast and successful take up of zine should not be construed as those for GX can still be achieved on, or very satellite passed each of these tests and sim- Global Xpress services in the global ener- of the publisher. close to, plan.” ulations and will now move to the next gy sector.” DS
Digital Ship September 2013 page 2 p1-20:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 14:26 Page 3
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SATCOMS Flat antenna for maritime satcoms
www.kymetacorp.com satellite in orbit, Kymeta’s mTenna is flat true broadband to the and forms and steers the antenna beam marine sector,” he added. American company Kymeta, a developer electronically, which the company says Kymeta intends to of flat antenna technology for Ka-band eliminates the need for moving parts. “work with all the major connectivity, has announced that it has Its shape is that of a square tile, whose satellite systems opera- secured $50 million in funding and con- sides can be 30 to 70 centimetres long, and tors and their distribu- firmed that it intends to introduce a high- it is 3 centimetres thick – similar in form to tors,” he said. capacity antenna for the maritime market an oversized pizza box. “There are several Ka- with no moving parts. “What the antenna does is: it creates a band operators already in Existing Kymeta investors including beam electronically. The beam then tracks full operation and several Bill Gates, Lux Capital and Liberty Global satellites with no mechanical, moving more who are launching were joined in the financing by Osage parts,” Mr McCambridge explained, dur- their constellations now, University Partners and The Kresge ing an interview. including Inmarsat, O3b, Foundation. “That is really what becomes such a Eutelsat, and Intelsat. So The Redmond, Washington-based com- revolutionary and breakthrough aspect of it’s a very exciting time pany has already partnered with Inmarsat our proprietary technology. It’s a next- and our product launch to design a flat Ka-band antenna for air- generation alternative to expensive, schedule lines up very planes, which it plans to launch in the first heavy, power-consumptive, mechanically nicely with the existing quarter of 2015. The goal is to allow airline steered devices. Our antenna technology Ka-band operators, as well passengers to access broadband services is similar to a flat panel TV display tech- as the new capacity com- through Inmarsat’s Global Xpress net- nology driven by electronics and software ing online in 2014-15.” Kymeta plans to adapt its flat antenna technology for use in work which is scheduled to be operational with no moving parts.” “Our development the commercial maritime market at the end of next year. Kymeta has designed a working schedule allows our ini- However, Kymeta confirmed to Digital Portable Satellite Terminal prototype that tial products to be available in the market said, though he notes that Kymeta has not Ship that it also intends to make the tech- can deliver 30 mbps on the receive side place in the first quarter of 2015,” Mr so far committed to a date for the intro- nology available for the maritime indus- and 3 mbps on the transmit side. The com- McCambridge adds. duction of either a Ku- or a hybrid L-band try, initially in the Ka-band, and then pos- pany is confident it can improve those “Our initial launch is in the Ka-band. solution. sibly in the Ku- and L-bands. speeds further to 50 mbps down and 5 But we are not limiting our development “What we would really like to do is line “Merchant ships, cruise ships, and mbps up for the maritime segment. to the Ka-band. There is a very large install up some launch partners for Ku- and L- yachts of all sizes are all target markets for Mr McCambridge also insists that base of Ku- and hybrid L-band users, bands and develop our terminals to meet us. The technology is incredibly robust,” the mTenna has a “much lower cost of especially in the maritime world. And so the system requirements of those partners. Bob McCambridge, Kymeta’s president usage” than VSAT or Inmarsat’s BGAN we’re very interested in delivering solu- We’re in discussions with Ku-band and COO, told us. terminals, the land-based equivalent to tions that meet the need for customers providers now.” Unlike typical VSAT satellite communi- FleetBroadband. using those Ku- and L-band hybrid solu- “Although we haven’t set up a date for cations antennas currently in use in mar- “Our technology in combination with tions as well.” commercial availability in Ku- or L-band, itime, which use a stabilised dish that the high-throughput Ka-band satellites “It’s not a difficult process for us to it could be as short as a few months after moves to keep the dish pointing at the will be a revolutionary change and bring deliver our technology in Ku-band,” he the launch of our Ka-band solutions.” New 83cm SAILOR VSAT Smart services for Filipino sailors
www.cobham.com SAILOR 800 VSAT is based on the same www.smart.com.ph Cellular, notes that the products have a technology platform as Cobham’s substantial target market with Filipinos Cobham has announced the forthcoming SAILOR 900 VSAT 1m antenna. It can be Telecoms company Smart in the making up one third of the global mar- launch of SAILOR 800 VSAT, a 3-axis sta- used on various vessels including work- Philippines has unveiled a range of servic- itime workforce. bilised Ku-band antenna system with an boats and fishing vessels, notes Cobham. es designed to help Filipino seafarers stay “As a testament of our support in pro- 83 cm reflector dish, which it says pro- The manufacturer says that SAILOR in touch with their loved ones through moting their well-being, we are happy to vides the same radio performance as com- 800 competes in the 1m VSAT antenna phone calls, text messages and via the launch Smart Satellite Services, by which a peting 1m antennae. market. It says that its antenna is lighter internet. complete array of mobile services like and more compact than the Smart says that three services will soon voice calls, text, and online applications competition while offering be made available: Marino Phonepal, for smartphones and personal computers equal or even higher RF per- Marino Textmate, and Link Plus. will be made available for Filipino work- formance (G/T >18 dB/K). Marino Phonepal will allow seafarers ers on deck,” said Mr Lim. Cobham adds that each sailing in Australia, the Middle East, Capt Ronald Enrile, vice president for SAILOR 800 VSAT leaves the Africa, Europe, and Asia-Pacific to call Operations at Philippine Transmarine factory fully configured, with their families in the Philippines while Carriers, also commented that “most of all RF equipment installed, Marino Textmate will allow them to send our Filipino seafarers spend around 20 to which reduces the time need- text messages at what Smart says will be 30 per cent of their earnings in communi- ed on board for installation. affordable rates. cation. Calling their loved ones using a “SAILOR 800 VSAT is Link Plus, an online application which satellite phone, for example, is still designed to out-perform com- will have both mobile and desktop ver- expensive.” peting 80-100cm antennae, sions, will enable users to make calls, send “With the new service of Smart, not despite coming in a smaller, text messages, and access the internet. only does it offer wider coverage but it is more competitive and flexible Charles Lim, EVP and head, Wireless tailor-fit to Filipino seafarers’ budget as package,” said Casper Jensen, Consumer Business for Smart and Sun well. I believe our seafarers would love it.” head of maritime, Cobham SATCOM. “With SAILOR 900 VSAT as MTN Satellite Communications years of experience, as its Original our starting point, our (MTN) has appointed Mark Walter to Equipment Manufacturer/Leisure Marine in-house engineers have cre- the role of chief financial officer (CFO) in sales manager for Europe, the Middle East, ated an 80cm class antenna replacement of Peg Grayson, who has and Africa (EMEA). that punches well above its been named president of MTN weight.” Government Services (MTNGS). Cobham says that it will www.mtnsat.com The 83cm antenna is lighter and more compact start shipping the new SAILOR KVH has named Andrew Bush, a for- www.kvh.com than its 1m predecessor 800 VSAT in September. mer C.A. Clase (UK) executive with 17
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SATCOMS KVH doubles mini-VSAT capacity in Asia-Pacific region SpeedCast buys Pactel www.kvh.com “Increasing mini-VSAT Broadband net- shipping industry,” added Mr Bruun. work capacity in the Asia-Pacific region is “KVH’s solutions provide outstanding www.speedcast.com KVH Industries has announced that it has a key step in our strategy to provide communications for the mariners who fre- more than doubled the capacity of its mariners with the connectivity they need quent these waters, with downloads as SpeedCast has announced the successful mini-VSAT Broadband network in the at sea,” said Brent Bruun, executive vice fast as 4 Mbps and uploads as fast as 1 closing of a US$55 million Senior Secured Asia-Pacific region. This follows similar president of KVH’s Mobile Broadband Mbps, as well as crystal clear Voice over IP Credit Facility, whose proceeds have upgrades in the Caribbean, EMEA, and Group. (VoIP) telephone lines with optimised financed its acquisition of a 100 per cent African and Brazilian regions. “This area is a major hub for commer- service and prioritisation of applications.” effective interest in Pactel International. KVH started increasing its network cial shipping and the vessels travelling “Expanding network capacity and The new credit facility also allowed the capacity in late 2012. The on-going process there need affordable, fast, and convenient offering new services like IP-MobileCast company to refinance existing indebted- involves deployment of Variable Coding, connections in order to optimise their will help these mariners to improve on- ness held by TA Associates, its controlling Spreading, and Modulation (VCSM) tech- operations. The mini-VSAT Broadband board efficiency as well as crew morale.” shareholder. nology provided by its partner ViaSat. network, particularly with the new KVH says that its four-part strategy for Pactel is a satellite communications This is part of a strategy that includes TracPhone V-IP series terminals and the mini-VSAT Broadband network services provider headquartered in upgrading the TracPhone terminals used upcoming IP-MobileCast service, provides involves: deploying VCSM technology to Sydney (Australia). The company offers to deliver the mini-VSAT Broadband serv- those connections at an affordable price increase network capacity, upgrading internet and voice services to customers ice, and delivering news and entertain- combined with a number of benefits that TracPhone, creating a content delivery that include oil & gas operators, telecom ment content to seafarers through the IP- other providers do not offer.” service, and building alliances with appli- companies, governments and mining MobileCast service which is expected to be “There is no denying the importance of cation providers to deliver a variety of companies. available later this year. the Asia-Pacific region to the international content via that service. The buyout of Pactel follows the November 2012 acquisition of Australian Satellite Communications and the January 2013 buyout of Netherlands-based Telenor and Harris CapRock renew 1° West agreements Elektrikom Satellite Service. The Facility was fully funded by ING www.telenorsat.com ices via its own teleport facilities located in 2014, we look forward to being able to Bank, Singapore Branch, as mandated lead www.harriscaprock.com Aberdeen (Scotland). extend our satellite capacity and related arranger, facility agent and security agent, “Over the past two years, TSBc has services to Harris CapRock and continue and programs advised by Partners Group Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc) has been working closely with Harris to strengthen our growing partnership.” on behalf of its clients and Siemens announced the signing and renewal of CapRock to deliver satellite capacity, for Andy Lucas, global operating officer of Financial Services, as mandated lead multiple agreements with Harris CapRock services to some of its most important cus- Harris CapRock, also commented that arrangers. for the provision of satellite capacity serv- tomers,” said Morten Tengs, vice presi- “some of our largest customers require Pierre-Jean Beylier, CEO of SpeedCast, ices from its 1° West orbital location. dent and CEO of TSBc. increased bandwidth to support remote said: “We are delighted to have on board Norwegian company TSBc owns and “TSBc holds a strong European mar- monitoring, diagnostics and other informa- ING, Partners Group and Siemens, three operates a fleet of satellites while US- itime position at 1° West for the delivery of tion that have a direct impact on how ships top tier financial partners.” based Harris CapRock provides commu- satellite services to the main maritime and and vessels operate effectively at sea.” “Together with TA Associates, this nications to remote and harsh environ- energy satellite communication service “The satellite-capacity solutions offered gives SpeedCast the potential to fund fur- ments. It serves maritime clients in Europe providers.” by TSBc allow for continued requirements ther growth, both organic and by acquisi- using TSBc’s THOR 10-02 satellite, which “With our new satellite, THOR 7, that are intended for both our existing cus- tion, and to take advantage of opportuni- is positioned at 1° West, and uplinks serv- expected to start commercial operation in tomers and new prospects.” ties as they arise.” O3b launches first four satellites
www.o3bnetworks.com ships, the Oasis of the Seas and the Allure of the Seas. One unusual aspect of the system in comparison with O3b has successfully launched its first four satellites and traditional VSAT services is that O3b satellites are says it should start providing Ka-band services after equipped with steerable spot beams that are adjustable placing another four into orbit in September. in space to track a ship. Headquartered on the British island of Jersey, O3b This means that all of the power available in a beam plans on offering a maritime VSAT service aimed at can be directed to a specific target, in this case the vessel, cruise ships and superyachts, with speeds of up to 350 to deliver extremely high data rates. Real-time tracking Mbps download and 150 Mbps upload. of the ship continues throughout its voyage to maintain The coverage area will encompass Latin America, the link. Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, as broad- O3b says that the system supports the handover of a band connectivity will be delivered within 45 degrees of ship from one beam to another, but in general this is not latitude north and south of the equator. needed as it is envisioned as a regional service. For Designed by Thales Alenia Space, the eight satellites example, a cruise ship in the Caribbean can transit the will be in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), some 8,000 kilo- whole region and never have to change beams. metres from the Earth, as opposed to standard O3b says that a second group of four satellites will be Geosynchronous (GEO) satellites which operate approx- launched on September 30th, completing the first phase imately 36,000 km away from the planet. in the constellation and ahead of the launch of the com- As a result, O3b says that round-trip data transmis- pany's service in the fourth quarter of 2013. A third four- sion times are reduced to approximately 100 millisec- satellite launch is planned for 2014. onds and that latency is greatly reduced. After the successful tests on the first four satellites of the The first four satellites were launched on June 25th constellation, Jean-Loïc Galle, CEO of Thales Alenia Space, from French Guiana, aboard an Arianespace Soyuz vehi- said: "We are very pleased to celebrate the in orbit accept- cle. After successfully clearing in-orbit testing (IOT) con- ance of the first four O3b satellites. With the upcoming trol and operation of the Ka-band satellites was handed four additional satellites to be launched at the end of over to O3b by manufacturer Thales Alenia Space. September, we wish great success to O3b Networks in the Customers witnessing the event included: Royal development of its business.” Caribbean Cruise Lines, O3b’s first maritime customer; O3b’s CTO Brian Holz said: "The handover was suc- Telecom Cook Islands, which will receive the first com- cessfully completed ahead of schedule. Performance of mercial signals across the network this summer; and Maju all four spacecraft has been outstanding with all link Nusa, soon to roll out a 3G backhaul network in Malaysia. parameters at or above specification. Thanks to the great Royal Caribbean has signed two deals with O3b to get work of the O3b and Thales teams, we can now look for- O3b will follow this initial launch with another satellite broadband services on board two of its cruise ward to our second launch with great confidence." at the end of September
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SATCOMS CrewCommCenter on 3,000 vessels
www.smsglobal.net Instant Messaging. SMSGlobal says that its software-based SMSGlobal has announced that 3,000 solution addresses the concerns of shipown- vessels are now equipped with its ers. Cost is predictable as there are fixed CrewCommCenter system. monthly charges for each module and limits The Hong Kong company launched the are set for sending and receiving messages. maritime service 10 years ago as a simple Security is protected through access two-way e-mail and SMS messaging sys- restrictions, content control, and whitelist- tem. CrewCommCenter has since evolved ing or blacklisting of sites, and the system into a larger communications platform. can be administered remotely to ease SMSGlobal says that 120,000 seafarers maintenance. use it, sending an average of 2.2 million SMSGlobal says that CrewCommCenter messages a month. Besides e-mails and will soon feature Bring-Your-Own-Device SMS, they can read News from home (BYOD) environments, seafarer-focused in 14 multilingual editions, consult the social networking portals, iOS or Android CrewCommCenter includes various communications options, Fleet Announcements Board, browse the apps, online gaming, VoIP, video chatting including a Facebook chat function internet, and converse through low data and personalised content. BBC World News for commercial vessels Diamlemos implements SmartBox
www.telemar.se wider world.” http://thenetwork.cisco.com Connector, will be hosted on a 2900 ISR www.nsslglobal.com Tomas Martinsson, general manager with the Cisco Unified Computing System at Telemar, notes: “The importance of Cisco has announced that Diamlemos (Cisco UCS) E-Series blade server. From the autumn, BBC World News bul- crew retention for ship owners is crucial. Shipping has decided to implement the Cisco says that the VoIP capabilities of the letins will be available on board commer- Providing additional TV services will Cisco-based SmartBox-V system for its system in this regard will “practically elimi- cial vessels via Telemar Scandinavia and improve morale for crew and also be vessels’ communications. nate vessel-to-office communication costs.” NSSLGlobal, the three companies have done without amassing an unexpected SmartBox-V is a bundle of software and “Cisco Cloud Connector helped us announced. airtime bill or imposing on a broadband services from Setel running on a Cisco increase productivity both at sea and BBC World News will be broadcast sev- package.” server which is hosted within a Cisco ashore through comprehensive unified eral times daily to all vessels that opt into Sally-Anne Ray, managing director of modular 2900 series router. The box communications, mobility, flexibility, the service, providing crews with access to NSSLGlobal, added: “The new service will enables WAN/LAN/VLAN architecture redundancy and high availability,” said BBC’s coverage of international news, cur- provide a great deal of opportunities for on demand. captain George Balabanos, managing rent affairs and sport. the future and NSSLGlobal and Telemar At the same time, the Cisco Integrated director of Diamlemos Shipping. Telemar and NSSLGlobal says that cus- are pleased to be at the forefront, leading Service Router (ISR) offers bandwidth “High performance is very important tomers using their Ku- or C-band network the way in satellite communications for management, firewall, VPN, proxy and in our business, because a short delay in will be able to watch the news bulletins our customers.” mail server, an internet gateway and making a trade can lead to the loss of hun- without impacting on broadband speeds BBC World News is already available telephony – all on a single platform. dreds of thousands of euros.” through the use of a Multicast service. on 173 cruise ships. This is meant to simplify on-vessel Antonis Tsiboukis, Greece, Cyprus and “We’re pleased to join together with Telemar is a provider of Inmarsat and communications equipment, optimise Malta general manager at Cisco, said: Telemar and NSSLGlobal to offer BBC other satellite airtime. Telemar Scandinavia communications themselves, and offer a “Cisco in collaboration with Setel Hellas World News to over 800 vessels around AB specialises in satellite communications, set of crew welfare applications. implemented the SmartBox-V Cloud the world,” said Colin Lawrence, distribu- including broadband solutions. Cisco says that the system will help to Connector with features especially for the tion director, BBC World News. Headquartered in the UK, NSSLGlobal consolidate Diamlemos’ IT infrastructure shipping market.” “With journalists in more places than provides satcom and IT solutions. Its mar- as its Unified Communications Manager “We will continue working hard towards any other global news broadcaster, we’re itime customers include Teekay Shipping, will interconnect offices in Piraeus, this target: to help organisations in the able to deliver the news that marine BW Gas, and Shell Tankers, to which it London, Arizona and Monaco. Then the shipping industry operate more efficiently crews need to remain connected to the provides hardware and airtime. SmartBox-V, as the Cisco Cloud through innovative Cisco technologies.” Remote office a reality for Simon Møkster vessels Dutch merger gives birth to Globecomm www.marlink.com Custom dynamic allocation of dedicat- grated with Simon Møkster’s own corpo- ed bandwidth has also been agreed as part rate telephone system, so calls from terres- Europe Simon Møkster Shipping has completed of the Sealink VSAT package for the com- trial and mobile networks, or from other a ‘remote office’ project that has resulted pany to enhance reliability, particularly Lync users, can be made to the vessels and www.globecommsystems.com in the company’s 23-strong fleet of off- for bandwidth hungry applications. received via Lync. shore supply and specialist vessels “Standardised software enables signifi- A specific VoIP solution has also been Satcom provider Globecomm Systems has becoming fully connected to the cant IT efficiencies and through the use of implemented for crew members from the announced that Carrier-to-Carrier and Microsoft Lync platform via its installed Lync we can collaborate across our whole Faroe Islands, which reduces their calling Mach 6, two Dutch communication servic- VSAT systems. organisation to a greater degree than costs by at least 50 per cent. es companies, have merged to form The Norwegian offshore vessel opera- before, making every one of our vessels “With on-going antenna testing col- Globecomm Europe. tor is using Marlink’s customised VSAT into a remote office,” explains Terje laboration aboard the Stril Myster, we Based in the Netherlands, Globecomm service Sealink to roll-out Microsoft’s stan- Gjerde, ICT manager at Simon Møkster already have a strong working relation- Europe is a fully owned subsidiary of dardised business collaboration and com- Shipping. ship which gives us insight on Simon Globecomm Systems, a publicly traded munication platform across its organisa- “The file and document sharing, and Møkster’s, and other operators’ commu- US company. tion on land and at sea. communication aspects, have provided nication needs,” said Tore Morten Olsen, Globecomm Europe provides satellite, The company expects that the project tangible improvements in ship opera- head of Maritime Services at Astrium terrestrial and wireless based communica- will offer a number of operational benefits, tions but in order for them to function Services. tion solutions to customers who include in addition to creating substantial savings fully we need a secure and reliable com- “Simon Møkster’s IT standardisation governmental organisations, enterprises, in the cost of crew calling. munication network. Sealink provides introduces operational, management and the maritime industry. Using Lync via VSAT will enable this with the added benefit that we can and crew welfare improvements. “These teams bring their own demon- Simon Møkster bridge and engine room work closely with Marlink people to Marlink is well positioned to support strated success in the industry to our teams to access telephony, video confer- ensure availability and compatibility operators wishing to explore the possi- newly formed Globecomm Europe,” says encing, instant messaging and data shar- with our IT infrastructure.” bilities of this approach to vessel and Andy Silberstein, senior vice president ing capabilities. The Lync platform has been fully inte- fleet management.” and general manager of Globecomm.
Digital Ship September 2013 page 8 p1-20:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 14:28 Page 9
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www.eutelsat.com p1-20:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 14:28 Page 10
SATCOMS Thuraya delivers MBB in Asia FCC details satellite inquiry issues
www.thuraya.com could deliver.” www.fcc.gov pose a rule that automatically terminates a Thuraya says that the customer has space station licence if the percentage of Thuraya reports that it has completed the placed an order for a second terminal to Further details on the US Federal unused capacity exceeds a certain amount. delivery of its Maritime Broadband (MBB) support its business operations. Communications Commission (FCC) Even if the authorisation for an under- solution to an offshore company in South Kenny Koh, of Devor Technologies, investigation into allegations of anticom- utilised satellite is not cancelled, the East Asia. said that other potential clients in the off- petitive behaviour in the satellite industry Commission asks whether, at a minimum, The system was installed on a vessel shore maritime sector have also expressed have been released in a Federal Register the unused spectrum should be made with an existing VSAT connection, which interest in the Thuraya MBB solution. Notice, outlining some of the specific areas available for reassignment. the Commission is examining. The second major allegation included The FCC is seeking comment on in the Notice relates to Intelsat’s status as whether and to what extent incumbent a vertically integrated company, which satellite operators are inhibiting competi- allows it to provide its customers both tion in the market for satellite services, space and ground communications serv- particularly in the fixed-satellite services ices. The allegation is that this status (FSS) arena. allows the company to discriminate Specifically, the Commission seeks against other competitors. comment on whether FSS operators are The Notice states that, as a vertically warehousing satellite orbital locations and integrated company, Intelsat not only frequency assignments, and preventing provides satellite services to integrators competitors from purchasing capacity on (resellers) who need satellite bandwidth incumbent-owned satellites. to fashion their own customer-specific Comments to the FCC are due on or service offerings, but Intelsat also com- before August 19, 2013, and reply comments petes against integrators because Intelsat are due on or before September 17, 2013. is now able to offer its own customer-spe- This Notice of Inquiry results from com- cific services. ments submitted in response to two Consequently, some integrators allege Congressionally mandated reports, the that this dual role has resulted in them Orbit Act Report and the Satellite being vertically foreclosed or barred The MBB unit will be used as an alternative to the onboard VSAT system Competition Report, which raised two main by Intelsat from securing satellite band- allegations of anticompetitive behaviour. width capacity. had been rendered unstable by unsettled “There was once a perception that The first of these allegations was that While Intelsat is the only operator weather in the Gulf of Thailand. Thuraya products were not designed for Intelsat and other dominant satellite oper- explicitly mentioned in this allegation, the The Dubai-based satcom provider was the maritime sector but solutions such as ators are warehousing scarce orbital same competition logic could be applied to contacted by its service partner Devor Thuraya MBB have proven to be suitable resources, i.e., hoarding satellite orbital an operator like Inmarsat, which also oper- Technologies, concerning a company in for a variety of other vessel types,” he said. locations and frequency assignments by ates both a satellite network and a direct South East Asia that operates more than 100 “What owners want is a product that is failing to replace aging satellites on a time- sales channel – so comments on these offshore vessels. The unnamed operator easy to install and configure, while giving ly basis or otherwise failing to provide issues will be viewed with interest across needed an alternative to its Ku-band VSAT them reliable throughput speeds. The transponder capacity that reflects current the maritime satcom sector. to continue providing internet connection Thuraya IP terminal is truly plug-and-play technology. The FCC says that it is specifically look- to an anchor handling tug supply vessel. and Thuraya’s congestion-free network In this regard the FCC is asking, for ing for more details on the nature and scope “The VSAT on board was affected by ensures that we can always be confident example, whether it should adopt a rule of the alleged foreclosure in question, ask- unpredictable weather in the Gulf of that our clients will receive what they have that declares unused spectrum available ing that commenters detail the time period, Thailand,” explained Kenny Koh, busi- invested in.” for reassignment as soon as service is ter- the geographic routes involved, the amount ness development manager for Devor In other news, Thuraya has also minated, unless an operator can demon- and type of bandwidth capacity (Ku-band, Technologies. launched a new adaptor to use the iPhone strate that it terminated service because of C-band, etc.) involved, and the size of the “The operator was obligated by their 5 with its SatSleeve system, which is now an unforeseen catastrophic circumstance. disputed business. charter to provide high-speed internet con- available from all its service partners. Alternatively, the Commission asks Among the further information nection and even though the speed was The company says that users can have whether permitting some gap in service requested by the FCC is data on whether acceptable, the connection was not stable full walk-and-talk capability in satellite would strike a better balance between pro- Intelsat vertical integration was facilitated enough to connect to the shore.” mode once they slide their iPhone 5 into viding an operator flexibility in managing by horizontal collusion among satellite Devor Technologies suggested Thuraya the SatSleeve. its fleet while still safeguarding against operators, or whether the vertical integra- Maritime Broadband (MBB), which pro- An application, available in 12 languages, warehousing. tion has enhanced or deterred coordinated vides L-band coverage over Asia, the allows them to integrate their iPhone con- The FCC is also seeking comment on interactions among potential bidders. Middle East and Europe and offers standard tacts when making satellite calls and SMS. whether lengthy extensions on licences for Intelsat has already commented that it IP throughput at speeds of up to 444 kbps. The SatSleeve works in satellite mode satellites nearing the end of their projected is confident that the investigation will find Devor arranged for priority shipping to across the coverage area of the Thuraya lifespan allow inefficient or partially-func- no wrongdoing, having said, when the the customer, and the MBB equipment – satellite network. tioning satellites to block customer access investigation first went public in June, that comprising the Thuraya IP terminal and to newer, state-of-the art satellites. it believes that “there is no shortage of evi- Spacecom antenna – reached the vessel Additionally, the Commission wishes dence supporting our view that the satel- within a day, with Devor and Thuraya to elicit comment on whether satellites that lite industry is fully competitive.” working on its immediate installation. are not operating at full capacity create a Interested parties can find details on Thuraya says that the customer has concern that the operator is warehousing how to submit their comments on the reported 85-95 per cent signal strength with spectrum, and asks whether it should pro- FCC website. MBB and that the vessel hasn’t encountered any service disruption to date. It adds that the crew expressed satisfaction with the Digital Ship conferences and exhibitions uplink and downlink speeds as well. go to www.thedigitalship.com for more details A senior representative from the mar- itime operator is quoted as saying: “We were also impressed by the low hardware cost, and Devor gave us the chance to test the system on board our vessel before making the outright purchase." "That clearly showed the confidence Devor has in the product's performance A SatSleeve for the iPhone 5 and within a few days of usage, we were is now available convinced that the Thuraya solution
Digital Ship September 2013 page 10 p1-20:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 14:29 Page 11 p1-20:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 14:29 Page 12
SATCOMS Lord Nelson and Tenacious stay connected Pro Nautas expands in Germany and the www.globecommsystems.com port of call. Would-be sailors aged 16 and outside world.” Netherlands www.jst.org.uk over can take part with no previous expe- “Both Lord Nelson and Tenacious can rience required. maintain ship-to-shore voice and data www.pro-nautas.com Globecomm Maritime has partnered with A ‘buddy’ system on board pairs able- communication even in the most remote Iridium to install OpenPort terminals on bodied and disabled crew to offer mutual oceans with the Iridium system’s pole to German maritime technology provider two tall ships taking part in challenges for help and support during the passage. pole coverage.” Pro Nautas reports that it has significantly British charity Jubilee Sailing Trust. Lord Nelson’s Captain, Barbara Also installed on board is the expanded its customer base in Germany STS Lord Nelson and STS Tenacious Campbell, said: “It is vital that we have se@COMM communication suite, which and the Netherlands, having agreed con- have both been designed to allow disabled reliable communications, not only for can be used to configure and control tracts to supply 112 vessels in the last 12 and able-bodied people to sail side by safety and operational purposes but access to the communications system, months. side. The former is sailing around the also so that our voyage crew can share and Globecomm’s Nimbus network The new deals cover 18 different world while the latter is heading to the their life-changing experiences with the security device. shipowners across the region, for a range Baltic Sea to run in the international Tall of vessels including container ships from Ship Race series this summer. 800 to 8,000 TEU, multipurpose vessels, Since Lord Nelson’s voyage includes tugs, bulkers and ro-ro's. Antarctica, Iridium was chosen as it is Implemented projects include installa- the only satellite constellation that covers tions of VSAT, FleetBroadband and other the poles. Inmarsat existing & evolved services such Trevor Whitworth, Globecomm as Fleet 77/55/33, as well as connectivity Maritime vice-president of sales, Asia systems integrating LAN / wireless LAN Pacific, said: “Staying in touch is a vital networks with the maritime communica- part of living and working at sea and we tion platform. wanted to assist in making sure the crew Pro Nautas has also provided operator and volunteers could get online and and administrator training to a number of update friends and family with the experi- these customers, both for onboard system ence of life on board.” users and IT personnel within the ship- In addition to the Iridium Pilot anten- ping companies. nas and below decks units, Globecomm The company says that this growth has Maritime says that it has supplied two been influenced by its introduction of a crew phones and a master’s phone along Total Solution package, combining ship-to- with a Wi-Fi access point. shore connectivity with airtime provision, The 55-metre square rigger Lord accounting authority services, radio regis- Nelson is taking part in the Sail the World tration, and service and maintenance for the Challenge, a 50,000-mile journey designed communication and navigation equipment. Capt Barbara Campbell will use the Iridium Pilot system to stay connected while at sea to promote equality and inclusion in every FleetBroadband growth for Otesat
www.otesat-maritel.com is an optimal solution as it provides the capacity and reliability we needed, while Greek company Otesat-Maritel has enabling us to keep close control of our announced that it has won new contracts costs.” with two shipping companies, Chandris “Crew welfare is also important for our and EPIC Shipping, to provide their ves- company. With this solution we have sels with FleetBroadband services. given the capability to our people on Headquartered in Singapore, with board to communicate better with their additional offices in Athens and Manila, family and friends at home.” EPIC Shipping owns and operates a fleet Otesat-Maritel has also been chosen by of 22 gas carriers. Greek ship management company Besides FB services, it has signed up for Chandris to provide FleetBroadband and Otesat-Maritel’s s@tGate solution to pro- value-added services. vide crew pre-paid internet access and Otesat-Maritel says that the contract, web e-mail services, as well as post-paid covering business communications and B2B services. crew welfare, extends an already success- “Offering the capabilities of ful co-operation with Chandris, which FleetBroadband satellite services and solu- specialises in the management and opera- tions, we ensure the simple, high-speed tions of tankers and bulk carriers. and cost-effective daily communication of “Our long co-operation with Chandris the vessels with their companies and the is a result of Otesat-Maritel’s strategy to crew with their loved ones,” said George provide top quality, reliable and integrat- Polychronopoulos, CEO of Otesat-Maritel. ed satellite communications solutions to Glen D’costa, managing director at the maritime industry,” said Mr EPIC, also commented: “FleetBroadband Polychronopoulos.
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Digital Ship September 2013 page 12 p1-20:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 14:29 Page 13
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SATCOMS Free Wi-Fi at Dover Port
www.doverport.co.uk tive, Port of Dover.” The Port says it is planning to follow The Port of Dover has gone live with a up with all new Port of Dover Wi-Fi new free Wi-Fi service at its Eastern customers to see how well the free service Docks. is working for them and to find out Aimed at ferry passengers, Europe’s what further improvements can be busiest international ferry port says it made to make the customer experience has already seen almost 4,000 Wi-Fi even better. accounts created. “This is the first phase of an exciting “This is a clear and tangible example project to bring free Wi-Fi to every part of of how the Port is working hard to the Port,” said Mr Waggott. improve the experience of its customers “We are working to bring this impor- and to provide the quality of service and tant service to our cruise terminals and to level of facilities that everyone using a our marina later this year, which will ben- major international gateway in the 21st efit even more of our customers as we century, such as the Port of Dover, should continue to drive towards becoming the 4,000 Wi-Fi accounts have been activated at the Port. expect,” said Tim Waggott, chief execu- best port in the world.” Photo: Clem Rutter Imtech Marine and Furuno extend exclusive contracts
http://imtech.com Imtech Marine, headquartered in Furuno’s navigation and communications and solutions together with a powerful www.furuno.com Rotterdam, exclusively represents Furuno portfolio. Additionally, Furuno has devel- sales force and a fully capable service in the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, oped, in cooperation with and on behalf of team of Imtech Marine have been work- Imtech Marine and Furuno signed a three- South Africa, Egypt, United Arabic Imtech Marine, the RHRS-2014 OEM river ing in tandem on a number of projects year extension of most of their exclusive Emirates (UAE), Curaçao, Trinidad & radar for the inland shipping market. worldwide, and we have succeeded in contracts to mark the 50th anniversary of Tobago, Hong Kong and in a number of Eric van den Adel, managing director achieving customer satisfaction from the their strategic partnership. allocated shipyards in China. Most agree- of Imtech Marine, said: “Furuno is a vital industry together. Both companies also agreed to explore ments have now been extended until 2017. part of our portfolio. We not only sell, “Looking back at what we have con- ways of extending their cooperation to Imtech Marine already services parts of install and commission the equipment, we tributed to the industry, it is our natural new opportunities worldwide. West and East Africa for Japan-based also consult and advise and we service the selection of the course that the amicable Over the years, thousands of vessels have Furuno, further cooperation is being equipment around the globe.” working relations between the two com- used Furuno equipment that has been sold, explored in Africa. Muneyuki Koike, managing director of panies should continue and be further maintained and serviced by Imtech Marine. Imtech Marine offers a range of Furuno Electric Co., said: “Our products extended in the future.”
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SATCOMS Polar VSAT – the next step in Arctic broadband Shipping routes through the Arctic have always offered the promise of drastically reduced journey times between continents – if the voyagers are willing to brave the often treacherous conditions in this remote part of the world. New plans are underway to try and make these journeys a little easier, through the launch of a dedicated Polar VSAT service
s the polar ice melts, shipping “However, this will not meet the users’ (between US$335 and $505 million), she coverage, very similar to what you can get through the Arctic is becoming needs in the future.” estimated. She added that Telenor most further south with the geostationary satel- AAboth more frequent and more “We need new solutions in order to likely doesn’t have a big enough market to lites. But you need two satellites instead of attractive, but its development depends on meet future demands.” fund this on its own. one to have 24 hour coverage.” reliable communications. “So it should probably be a joined effort “The drawback is that it’s a very high At present, only Iridium’s low Earth HEO between governmental institutions, Telenor cost investment to get started, and that’s orbit satellite constellation currently covers Since 80 per cent of today’s ship traffic in and perhaps other industry actors who’ll why we think we need a sort of private- the poles. However, Telenor also has plans the Arctic takes place in Norwegian depend on the new system,” she said. public partnership or some sort of govern- to introduce Arctic broadband, and the waters, Telenor and the Norwegian Space Hege Lunde, business development ment financing to do this.” Norwegian company believes it has found Centre have initiated a new project where director at Telenor, confirmed that this is the Mrs Lunde also confirmed that the esti- an effective technical solution – two highly they want to look into the Norwegian pos- approach that her company is also taking. mated cost of two to three billion elliptical orbit satellites. The issues it now sibilities for launching a new system. “We have initiated a project together Norwegian kroner is in the same range as faces are time and money. The partners have proposed a new proj- with the Norwegian Space Agency to look Telenor’s own calculations. The Norwegian Marine Technology ect based on two high elliptic satellites at the user requirements for broadband in “That we will verify probably in the fall Research Institute (Marintek) has carried which will provide continuous communi- the Arctic and also to look at what sort of when we go up to the industry and ask for out studies on behalf of Telenor which cation in polar areas. system would work, define the system a request for information to verify the fig- have examined the potential benefits and The satellites in Highly Elliptical Orbit requirements,” she told Digital Ship. ures. But it’s in that magnitude if you look challenges associated with Arctic satcoms. (HEO) follow a course that has the shape of “We are looking at two satellites in at a pure broadband system,” she said. “Arctic has some special challenges a rugby ball. The Earth, inside that rugby highly elliptical orbit to cover that region. with regard to communications,” notes ball, is close to one tip of the ellipse and far We haven’t found any other solution that Business case Beate Kvamstad, researcher at Marintek. from the other one (see picture below). we think would work.” One key aspect of the project from “The most normal maritime communi- The closer a satellite is to the Earth, the Asked about the advantages and draw- Telenor’s point of view is that it wants to cations systems being used in other places quicker it moves. So if it is high up over the backs of the HEO system, she explained: design a system that wouldn’t require ship on the Earth are based on satellites orbiting North Pole, it will stay there for a relative- “The pros are that you can get proper polar owners to change antennas. the Earth around the Equator. However, ly extended period, moving “The goal is to be using such satellites has its limitations up slowly, before moving quickly able to roam between in the North because you can’t read the sig- around the Earth and the South geostationary sys- nal,” she explained during a presentation Pole and resuming its position tems and this sys- at Nor-Shipping. over the North Pole. tem,” said Mrs The theoretical limit of coverage for geo- To have continuous Artic Lunde. stationary satellites (used by Inmarsat or coverage, two such satellites are This view is rein- VSAT systems) is 81.3° north, but instability required as one of them needs to forced by Astrium and signal dropouts can occur at latitudes as be over the North Pole while the Services, and in par- low as 70° north under certain conditions. other one is doing its quick rev- ticular its Norwegian “Moving up north, especially further olution around Earth via the based Marlink busi- north than 75°, communication is a huge South Pole. ness unit, which is issue because you’re not able to exchange Mrs Kvamstad said that her also examining information, you’re not able to download studies have suggested that options to participate the chart updates, you’re not able to down- HEO satellites provide the best in the project. load ice maps and so on,” Mrs Kvamstad solution for Arctic coverage. “Anything that told Digital Ship. “However, this is not avail- has a stabilised “The Iridium system is designed in a way able today for commercial use antenna could in such that the signals from an end user might nor for communications,” she principle use the new ‘jump’ from satellite to satellite until it reach- notes, explaining that the HEO system. It should not es either the correct receiver or an earth sta- satellites that already exist are take a lot of changes tion. This way of transmitting signals intro- military or weather observation to the technology,” duces a latency which is acceptable for many satellites. said Tore Morten applications, but not acceptable for other Canada is also contemplating Olsen, CEO Astrium more time critical applications.” a similar initiative – its PCW Services. The Marintek scientist also predicted (Polar Communication and Astrium already that the bandwidth available via the 134 Weather) mission is looking at provides satellite cov- kbps Iridium system would not be suffi- introducing two HEO satellites erage using systems cient “as users’ demand for digital com- to provide high data rate com- in the various fre- munications in the High North increases.” munications and monitor Arctic quency bands cur- Iridium is in the process of modernising weather and climate change. rently available (C-, its system however, with plans already “It will probably be focusing Ku-, L-band, and underway to start launching a new con- on the Canadian borders,” Mrs soon Ka-band) and stellation called Iridium NEXT in 2015. The Kvamstad said. She added that says it is following US-based company says that it will recre- another HEO system was also the Arctic coverage ate the existing Iridium constellation archi- being discussed in Russia – “but plan closely. tecture of 66 cross-linked LEO satellites we’re not very sure “The philosophy covering 100 per cent of the globe, but how far they’ve gone into the is that this would be delivering higher data speeds than are cur- planning.” just another network rently possible with OpenPort. The Norwegian project of where the maritime “This will increase somewhat the two HEO satellites would cost The HEO satellites will follow an elliptical orbit to maximise coverage. clients could roam on capacity,” commented Mrs Kvamstad. between 2 and 3 billion kroner Photo: Norwegian Space Centre to,” said Mr Olsen.
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SATCOMS
“That is where the interest from our “The early stage would probably be from a maritime safety perspective” for Western company to have commercial ves- side really lies, in being able to provide 2018-19,” said Mrs Lunde, noting that Norway “to secure a leading position in sels transit the Northeast Passage without seamless services not only in the geosta- operations would be expected to start data, telephone and satellite communica- the need for icebreakers. It said that it cut tionary coverage locations but also for shortly after the launch. tions for the High North.” 4,000 nautical miles off the journey from those who are using the north-eastern and Asked whether she was confident that NSA notes that the volume of goods South Korea to Rotterdam compared with north-western passages.” the project would be carried out, she transported along the Northern Sea transit via the Suez Canal. “For shipping, that is kind of key that replied: “Personally I believe it will hap- Route (also called the Northeast Passage) The two Beluga heavy lift project carri- they don’t need any additional equip- pen. It has to do with financing.” is expected to increase from 3.1 million ers involved in the journey used the ment. In principle you can say that the sta- She said that sources of funding could tonnes in 2011 to 50 million tonnes Iridium OpenPort system, supplied by bilised antenna systems provided by com- include the Norwegian military, oil in 2020. H2OSatellite, for voice and data links panies like Cobham and Intellian should companies – once exploration starts in This expansion will be boosted by the throughout their transit of the extreme be able to operate on the HEO satellites the Arctic – and government institutions fact that, while the Northern Sea Route, Northern waterways. without modifications.” involved in search and rescue or scientific which hugs the coast of Russia, is the most “By the completion of the Northeast Mr Olsen also said that he believed that research. trafficked shipping lane in the Arctic, it is Passage transit, and previously the safe a public-private partnership was necessary only one of many possible routes across offloading of the cargo in a rather remote to make such a project a reality. The north- Arctic traffic the High North. area in Siberia, we have opened the gate ern routes are open during the summer The potential customer base is rapidly There is also the Northwest Passage, to a seaway which will further gain in months, when the ice has melted, but expanding, as traffic has been increasing which runs along the coast of North importance in the future,” said Niels the satellites’ costs will be there for the sharply in the Arctic in recent years. America (conditions are more difficult), Stolberg, then president and CEO of whole year. In the summer of 2012, 46 ships used the and the Arctic Bridge, which links Beluga Shipping, at the end of this land- “It’s that business model that makes it a Northern Sea Route. By 2050, three of the Churchill (Canada) to Murmansk (Russia), mark journey. bit challenging in terms of justifying this in four major Arctic shipping routes will be and is already reliably open during sum- For the Beluga voyage, planning had purely commercial terms,” said the fully accessible from July to September to mer months. started 12 months before, involving con- Astrium Services CEO. Type A vessels, which have limited ice- UCLA researchers have also said that a sultations with meteorologists, safety and “There will naturally have to be more breaking capabilities, according to “North Pole Route”, stretching from security experts, and Beluga’s satcom studies done on the cost of the service and researchers from UCLA (University of Rotterdam (Netherlands) to the Bering provider H2OSatellite. the price per megabit or whatever model California, Los Angeles). Strait, would be seasonably accessible to “We knew that Iridium OpenPort was we want to put in place, because of the sig- In this context, the CEO of Astrium Type A vessels by mid-century. the only choice for full coverage in those nificantly higher cost of this coverage com- Services is confident that there will be “If you can imagine taking a boat from extreme regions where other systems are pared to the others.” broadband in the Arctic region. Europe directly to Alaska, that would be patchy or non-existent,” Robert “But we also know that the shipowners “I believe it will happen. The question is possible according to our results for the Kenworthy, managing director of are saving a lot of time by taking this route, more: when?” Mr Oslen said. North Pole Route,” said Laurence Smith, a H2OSatellite, said at the time. versus going through the Mediterranean, “There will be something. Whether it is professor of geography at UCLA. “The system allowed Beluga Shipping through the Suez Canal and around India. this system by Telenor and whatever PPP Based on climate forecasts for the years to stay in constant touch with its vessels, They could go from Europe to Asia in two alliance one is able to find, or whether it is 2040 to 2059, he also said that the ice sheet which is essential for safety and security in weeks rather than in four to six weeks. So something else that will come up. But there would thin to the point that polar ice- an area with drifting ice fields, ridges and there should also be significant savings for will be broadband in the future in the breakers will be able to navigate between freezing temperatures.” the shipowners by taking up this route.” Arctic, clearly.” the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by making In a few years, however, shipping lines Telenor says that, under current plans, The Norwegian Shipowners a straight shot over the North Pole. that want to take advantage of the it is contemplating launching the HEO Association (NSA) supports this view, con- “Nobody's ever talked about shipping Northern routes may have their choices satellites within six years. sidering that it is “extremely important over the top of the North Pole,” he expanded to include both the Iridium sys- noted. “This is an entirely unexpected tem and the HEO satellites. possibility.” “Travelling the Northeast Passage is an However unexpected, shipping lines ambitious and worthwhile project since it are already calculating the time – and offers great advantages for saving time, money – they could save by using one of bunker and thereby money, but also reduc- these routes. ing environmentally harmful emissions Norwegian shipping company Tschudi which have to be decreased in the mar- considers that “the potential savings are itime sector,” said Mr Stolberg, of Beluga, too high to be ignored”, with its calcula- in 2009. tions showing that the Rotterdam to “The possibility of a direct seaway con- Shanghai route is 30 per cent shorter via necting the prosperous European and Asian the Northern Sea Route than through the markets offers unmatched opportunities for Suez Canal, and Kirkenes to Yokohama is both strong cargo trade and efficient sea 56 per cent shorter. traffic, and Beluga Shipping was deter- The Norwegian Shipowners’ mined to make the possibility a reality.” Association notes that “for Yokohama to Mr Stolberg’s views on the potential of Hamburg, a saving of 40 per cent in dis- this sea route have been backed by others tance and around 20 per cent in bunkers since, as an increasing number of ships can be obtained by navigating the soon followed the Arctic trail. Northeast Passage compared with sailing Four vessels sailed through the through the Suez Canal.” Northern Sea Route (or Northeast Passage) “Experience shows that, from in 2010, which has grown to 34 vessels in Murmansk, the Northeast Passage offers 2011 and 46 last year. The trend is unlikely savings over the Suez Canal of 13 days to to reverse. Japan, 11 days to South Korea and 8 days “The Arctic is now warmer than it has to China. The distance between Kirkenes in been at any time during the last 2,000 the far Northeast of Norway to Qingdao in years,” according to researchers from the China is 6,650 nautical miles via the Arctic Institute. Northeast Passage, 12,405 nm via Suez and “Summer ice extent has declined by 40 15,842 nm via the Cape of Good Hope.” per cent since satellite observation began in 1979. Over the same period, Arctic sea ice Previous success has thinned considerably, experiencing a Certainly, the appetite for Arctic shipping decline in average volume of 70 per cent.” is set to continue to grow as more and “Within the next decade this warming more companies successfully complete trend may transform the region from an voyages through these routes and prove inaccessible frozen desert into a seasonally the viability of the concept from both a navigable ocean and the Arctic Ocean may technical and an operational perspective. be ice-free for short periods as early In 2009, Beluga Shipping was the first as 2015.” DS
Digital Ship September 2013 page 18 CrewCommCenter brochure Addressing the Needs Addressing About SMSGlobal ltd. SMSGlobal was founded in 2003 when the company introduced the first universal 2-way SMS text messaging and crew E-mail service for seafarers. SMSGlobal has established offices in Hong Kong & Philippines and works hand in hand with over 800 telecom operators world-wide integrating various state-of-the-art technologies. CrewCommCenter is offered by some of the biggest maritime industry service providers: Inmarsat Direct Sales, J-Sat Mobile, Beijing Marine and SeaSecure. For more information: www.smsglobal.net [email protected] ...... To download the CrewCommCenter details: To http://www.smsglobal.net/filedownloads/Crew CommCenter_presentation.pdf SMSGlobal's success has been anchored on SMSGlobal's success concerns by both the merging these divergent seafarer and the shipowner. the seafarer CrewCommCenter provides convenient, affordable, private communications enabling them with their loved ones and friends, read News to send and receive E-mails and SMS, from home, read ship manager Announcements, Messaging, converse through low data Instant and Browse the World Wide Web. features, While the crew enjoys all these CrewCommCenter also strongly addresses the CrewCommCenter also strongly set for sending shipowners concerns: limits are usage is and receiving messages, thus controlled; fixed monthly charges for each controlled; fixed monthly charges access module, thus cost is predictable; restrictions, content control, whitelisting or restrictions, content control, whitelisting simple, blacklisting thus security is guaranteed; interfaces for industry standard protocols and system management and remote configurations thus ease of maintenance and administration is guaranteed; and finally; CrewCommCenter is a software-based solution thus no need for costly capital outlays for additional hardware.
...... LTD GLOBAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS Crew Welfare is Crew is Crew Crew Welfare Retention The significance of crew retention as a key The significance results has been growing factor in bottomline so that crew rapidly the last decade, so much any shipping welfare is now a key focus on operations mindset. Personal communications and friends by the crew with their loved ones as the back home is widely acknowledged most crucial of all crew welfare initiatives. acceded While most shipowners have already to personal to providing crew access communications such as E-mail and SMS communications such as E-mail with the messaging, many are still concerned access; cost challenges providing crew Internet security and usage controls, ship operations or and IT compromises, support, maintenance costly initial administrative hassles and investments or capital outlays...... Capt. Ivar Thomasli, Chairman SMSGlobal Ltd. SMSGlobal SMSGlobal on-shore. Ltd. ones is loved proud to and announce friends that 1,300,000 3,000 over vessels are with now monthly equipped messages with its 2,200,000 CrewCommCenter exchanging system – having by 120,000 choice seafarers of provider communications crew the as industry Maritime the in year 10th its marks SMSGlobal as significant doubly solution is communications milestone crew leading The market the as CrewCommCenter cement further achievements The owner. ship the and seafarer the both platform. single a into concerns divergent sector's each merges that SMSGlobal installs CrewCommCenter on 3,000 vessels 3,000 on CrewCommCenter installs SMSGlobal Three thousand vessels under operation is a solid testament to CrewCommCenter as the crew Three thousand vessels under operation is a solid testament to CrewCommCenter communications solution of choice. and we are excited for the The whole team with SMSGlobal is proud to reach this milestone developments ahead. system when we started 10 Much has evolved from the simple 2-way E-mail and SMS messaging Fleet Announcements Board, years ago to a full-blown Internet Café facility that it is today; with with all major networks such World-News in 14 multilingual editions, Online Instant Messaging as MSN, Yahoo, Facebook, Google and AIM and secured Web Browsing. it is as well a dynamic While CrewCommCenter is well-equipped to address today's demands, of the continuously evolving technology that is highly leveraged to meet the growing demands “connected” world: environments, seafarer- Web-based, client-free interfaces, Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) Online Gaming, VOIP, Video focused social networking portals, native iOS or Android apps, that seafarers will soon be Chatting and Personalized Content are just some of the modules enjoying. Bridging the distance with friends and loved Bridging the distance been a serious concern for ones has always true anyone working at sea. This is especially times in this age with quicker port turnaround – and longer – more often less than a day 30 days stretches out at sea – sometimes straight. Cost affordability of personal communications big challenge. has always been and still is a USD 100 per Seafarers typically spend at least which for month on personal communications, some is already a tidy sum. of personal Privacy and confidentiality Bridging the Gap Bridging the communications is also an ongoing concern for communications is also an ongoing of seafarers. Nobody needs the aggravation be the having his personal and family matters the vessel. talk of all his colleagues on board ...... p1-20:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 14:29 Page 19 Page 14:29 09/08/2013 p1-20:p1-14.qxd p1-20:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 14:30 Page 20
SATCOMS Full speed ahead or steady as she goes?
Excitement has been growing in the maritime market over the potential benefits that the next generation of high throughput satellites (HTS), set to be launched in the coming years, will offer – but for most shipping companies these new services won’t be a viable replacement for current offerings for a long time yet, writes Geoff Davison, Thuraya
he launch of HTS services over the their penetration small as a percentage of of the bandwidth and user experience. 2021. Maritime L-Band revenues will be coming decade promises to pro- the addressable market. That’s despite the This suggests that the sale of VSAT double those of Ku- and Ka-band com- TTvide something like communica- users already having in some cases con- services for crew use is distorting the bined by that date, the research suggests. tions nirvana for the maritime industry. tributed to the cost of their development. demand figure. Crew usage may be taking True, L-band is hardly global. Only one The potential increases in bandwidth operator claims a truly pole to pole service capability and available airtime suggest and others provide a regional footprint, that where once the maritime industry while the incumbent covers the majority of laboured to do a fraction of what we take ports and trade lanes over three ocean for granted on land, it would finally regions. achieve some kind of parity. But ‘regionality’ is not limited to L-band In some cases this may be true but it is providers. Most current VSAT coverage far from the whole picture. A comprehen- is put together from beams operated sive understanding of the maritime sat- by FSS providers and coverage is rarely if coms landscape needs to recognise not just ever global. the changing dynamics of demand and Even when it is marketed as such, VSAT supply but a clear understanding of cus- systems require an L-band failover for tomer behaviour and needs. backup – seen by some as a source of some Do just that and it becomes immediate- contention and by others as opportunity to ly clear that the for the majority of owners offer price plans tailored for this purpose. and operators, legacy L-band systems will continue to command the lion’s share of Future markets voice and data traffic over coming years. The fact is that maritime has never been a That may seem counter-intuitive given one size fits all market and emerging from the lower per megabyte costs and package the worst downturn for almost a genera- deals to be had by upgrading but the tion this is more true than ever. fact remains, shipping is only now coming The successful shipping company in to the end of a seven year down cycle, the second third and fourth decades of with some analysts suggesting that the 21st century will need to be connected, anyone imagining a return to uniform but it will also need to keep costs under L-band’s inherent reliability in difficult conditions will mean that it remains a mainstay pre-2008 business conditions is likely to control and take advantage of proven sys- of maritime communications. Photo: Jonathan Lally, USCG be disappointed. tems and services that are designed to fit Ask the average shipowner how much its specific needs. he pays per megabyte and the chances are But anyone who has spent time in the up the majority of VSAT airtime but the More often than not conversations with he does not know. Ask the same shipown- maritime industry knows that the leading chances are that just like business users, owners and managers about HTS follow a er how much his communications bill is edge is not always representative of the they will not get the advertised rate at all similar pattern – interesting concept, every month and he will be able to tell you majority. Shipping’s middle ground is a times for purely practical reasons. potentially very exciting, but after you… quite easily. place of fragmented ownership and small Equally, our experience is that for the Those banner contracts will come – the Look ahead even to the medium term to medium sized companies which exist in majority of business users a smaller pipe groundwork is already laid and we would and the drivers to satcoms adoption are far lower profile niches than the big fleets with more reliable throughput works fine, accept that the trend is set – betting likely to remain focussed on a service and publicly-listed companies. notwithstanding peaks and troughs in against bandwidth has been discredited package that delivers on price, quality of demand, during which they can throttle in the past. signal, robustness and ease of use and Adoption drivers the crew channel back themselves. But that bet has been won and lost on installation. The drivers to adoption of VSAT and high- Of course that problem is exaggerated land. Maritime is a different environment, HTS launches – by Inmarsat, Intelsat er bandwidth services also need to be when using L-band broadband. Cynics one where equipment must be designed and O3B for example – make great news; examined in more detail. As has been might even question the use of the term for purpose and reliability. they capture the imagination and give noted by recent research, many VSAT ven- but the reality is that rates of 512 kilobits A consistent and reliable service, albeit hope to those users who want to see their dors are making sales based on the per second must be counted as maritime at unstarry data rates, might be of equal ships as an extension of the office rather unprecedented demand for crew welfare broadband against the historical through- value to a mid-sized operator than a high than a remote branch where no-one communications. put rates that shipping has laboured with speed connection that only gives him 70 answers the phone. This is in part because they struggle to for three decades. per cent coverage and a high dropout rate. But the fact remains that HTS, exciting make the case at boardroom level for What the trend towards HTS overlooks The price equation will continue to though it is, will be expensive to use and VSAT or high bandwidth services for busi- is not just the legacy tonnage that will rely play a key role. Shipowners do not spend far more complex in day to day operation ness communications and also because the on L-band in future but why it does that. their hard earned dollars without measur- than legacy maritime services. promise of a fat pipe that can keep the L-band signals and their associated able and meaningful payback – look at the The demand is certainly there and one crew happy for a fixed monthly fee is shipboard and ground based signals are market for energy efficiency devices for only need read the pages of Digital Ship to almost too good to be true. prized for their robustness, resistance to proof of that – so there is good reason to see that owners of tanker fleets and other In some cases it is just that. Any com- rain-fade and the fact that for the most part believe that dedicated L-band operators specialised tonnage are moving ever closer munications package comes with limits, the crew can install, trouble shoot and even who understand their customers and have to full VSAT as a prelude to HTS services regardless of what the sales brochures say upgrade the equipment, with a little help close links to their partners cannot just when they come on stream. and providers will build into contracts from a service provider. survive the HTS wave, they can prosper Even so questions remain. Do the clauses covering best effort, committed Figures from research company in the niches that a patchwork global majority of shipowners need a bandwidth information rates, throttling back and nor- Northern Sky Research suggest that in- recovery creates. DS pipe that big? Are they prepared for the mally some figure covering maximum MB service MSS maritime units will grow from higher Capex on ground equipment and consumption. Crew use of social media 368,000 in 2011 to 955,000 in 2021, the vast About the Author maintenance? Will these services work as will test all those parameters. majority of them narrowband. Geoffrey Davison is prod- well as L-band in the mobility market? Service partners with a solid package of Revenues from HTS services will begin uct manager, maritime, for Even their providers also accept that Value Added Services are best placed to to emerge by 2015 but still make up a frac- Thuraya Telecommunica- these services are likely to be attractive to succeed because even with ‘unlimited’ tion of the total, which is predicted to tions. comparatively few high-end users, making packages, the best use still has to be made increase from $1.8bn in 2011 to $3.9bn by
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SOFTWARE CSCL equips containerships with ECO-Assistant
www.gl-group.com a web-based application designed to help the required documentation, e.g. Material data networks have become more and in the preparation and the maintenance of Declarations, Supplier Declarations of more complex, while also integrating safe- Germanischer Lloyd (GL) has announced a vessel's Inventory of Hazardous Conformity and IHM Documents. ty-critical and non-safety-critical applica- that China Shipping Container Lines Materials (IHM). “We have developed the IGS as a smart tion systems. (CSCL) has rolled out a trim optimisation The IHM Green Server (IGS) aims at tool for generating documents which com- An increasing number of application software developed by its consultancy supporting shipowners in managing IHM ply with the regulations in the most trans- systems are connected through data net- unit on eight vessels and has signed an aspects of the newly adopted European parent and easy manner possible,” said works in order to minimise the length of agreement to deploy it on another eight. Union regulation on ship recycling and Gerhard Aulbert, GL's head of global cabling, and thus reduce the cost and ECO-Assistant is the name of the soft- the Hong Kong International Convention practice Ship Recycling. weight of the cabling. ware developed by FutureShip, the mar- for the Safe and Environmentally Sound “It facilitates communication between In merchant shipping, more and more itime consultancy unit of classification Recycling of Ships. the various parties and will support own- vessels are equipped with integrated society GL. bridges that link information from the With trim being a central driver of ener- navigation and automation systems. gy efficiency, the ECO-Assistant delivers Integrated systems comprise monitoring an optimum trim angle for a specific ship sensors, control systems for the propul- with an input of such operational parame- sion and power-generating systems, and ters as current speed, displacement and monitoring and alarm systems. water depth. GL says that type approval is required GL says that it can help reduce CO2 for data networks which connect applica- emissions and save enough fuel to amor- tion systems related to classification such tise the initial investment over a relatively as: automation system, navigation system, short period. alarm & monitoring system, general alarm During a sea trial carried out on one of & public address system. the eight 14,000TEU containerships oper- Non-class related application systems ated by CSCL the shipping line calculated would include entertainment systems that it reduced fuel consumption by up to such as: radio, television, audio and video 8.2 per cent. on demand and private internet access. As a result, CSCL has rolled out ECO- The required approval would cover the Assistant on its entire fleet of eight entire network, including routers, switch- 14,000TEU container vessels. It also es, and process controllers connected with signed an agreement to expand the ECO-Assistant will eventually be installed on 16 CSCL vessels network cables. deployment of the trim optimisation soft- In order to follow a risk-based ware to another eight 9,600TEU container approach for the approval process, a so- vessels in its fleet. The new EU regulation is scheduled to ers in maintaining high quality ships and a called Requirement Class is assigned to Vincent Li, vice president of FutureShip enter into force at the end of the year. It clean working environment on board, the respective data networks. The scope of China, says that ECO-Assistant is easy requires owners of EU flagged ships or while also enabling ship recycling facili- documents to be submitted for approval to install as there is no need to modify ships calling at ports within the EU to ties to benefit from comprehensive IHMs and the required function tests depend on the vessels. establish an Inventory of Hazardous for preparing to recycle vessels and moni- this assignment. “The software itself is also very user Materials. toring of hazardous materials on board GL explains that there are five different friendly, so the training required is mini- GL says that IHM Green Server can of ships.” Requirement Classes, differentiating the mally time intensive,” he notes, adding gather and process the entire volume of In other news, GL has also announced individual network according to the mag- that the system can be deployed not just ship component data, which are required that it has published new guidelines for nitude of the damage which would result on containerships but on all types of ves- to be maintained and updated through the data networks which are implemented on from a potential component or system fail- sels, including multi-purpose vessels and ship’s lifetime. From the central web based board ships or on offshore platforms. ure and its effect on the persons on board, bulk carriers. data repository all parties involved, such The guidelines are available for down- the environment and the technical condi- GL says that there have been more than as shipowners, shipyards, suppliers, haz- load on the GL website for requirements tion of the vessel. 300 installations of the tool on board and mat experts, class societies and recyclers, that entered into force on 1 August 2013. This approach follows the same proce- onshore since it was launched in 2009. can work in parallel on the same platform. GL notes that as the maritime industry dure as the approval process for computer In related news, GL has also developed IGS also allows for the management of all makes greater use of automated systems, systems under GL's Rules and Guidelines.
60,000 reasons to celebrate Vroon signs to KeepUp@Sea CrewToo anniversary for 3 more years
www.crewtoo.com contact that most people at sea experience, www.palantir.no ing support,” he said. by providing a space where seafarers feel “We had zero impact of viruses on any Headland Media, purchased in May 2013 they belong and can converse. It is also a Norwegian technology provider Palantir of these 90 vessels during a period of three by KVH, reports that its Crewtoo social space where they can learn and it is has announced that Dutch shipping com- years (and) we only had to attend a vessel media site for seafarers has now passed becoming a platform for seafarers to help pany Vroon has renewed its KeepUp@Sea once to remediate an issue.” 60,000 members in the 12 months since its and inspire each other.” fleet deal, first signed in 2010, for a further introduction in August 2012. “Our company has focused on offer- three years. Membership growth has been steady, ing services to improve the lives of sea- The delivery includes hardware, logis- with the company having announced that farers for the past 60 years. With tics, roll-out and migration services, it had passed 40,000 members in April of Crewtoo, we wanted to create a direct KeepUp@Sea Antivirus and KeepUp@Sea this year. relationship with seafarers so we could Inventory services. “For many of the world’s 1.2 million understand their situation first-hand Vroon operates a fleet of approximately seafarers, the initial romantic vision of a and ultimately provide services that are 160 vessels, 90 of which are covered by the life at sea was too soon replaced by the better designed to suit their needs. It is Palantir solution. reality of hard work in harsh conditions gratifying to see large numbers of peo- Rob Frenks, group ICT manager, notes and increasing isolation,” commented ple joining our site, and exciting to see that using the Palantir system has dramati- Mark Woodhead, managing director of how their input and our new relation- cally reduced the work required to support Headland Media. ship with KVH are already leading to and maintain the networks on those vessels. ‘We had zero impact of viruses on any of “Crewtoo’s unique objective is to com- plans for a new generation of exciting “We only require one ICT FTE to man- these vessels’ – Rob Frenks, Vroon bat that sense of loneliness and lack of services.” age and coordinate the installs and ongo-
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SOFTWARE Krill introduces bunkering software OstiaEdge includes Emsys
www.krillsystems.com The software uses Microsoft SQL server database technology to record sensor data www.esrgtech.com only one penetration per stack for Krill Systems, an American developer of and storage capacity. Any communication both emissions (NOX, SOX and CO2) and fuel monitoring systems, has introduced a system supporting SMTP e-mail protocols ERSG has announced that its OstiaEdge PM sampling. Monitoring for optional new bunkering software. may be used to transmit customisable analytics platform now also monitors gases such as CO and CH4 is also avail- Krill Bunkering System (KBS-100) uses reports and sensor data menus, in Excel emissions, after it struck a partnership able. GPS interface ensures geographical mass-measuring metres to minimise inaccura- format, to any number of operators, with with WR Systems, the developer of position recording for assured compli- cies found in Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) transfers. no monthly fees or charges. Emsys. ance within ECA zones. Emsys is Type Flow rate, temperature and density are KBS100 can be ordered as a stand-alone ERSG’s software OstiaEdge already Approved in line with MARPOL Annex displayed in real time and a ‘Bunkers in system or incorporated into an existing analyses the performance and health VI. Progress’ display area shows the total vol- Krill system. of shipboard equipment such as Emsys is now part of the collection of ume of bunkers delivered, ticket number, “The KBS-100 was developed at the engines, generators, fuel metres, torque shipboard equipment monitored by start time and stop time. A ticket can be request of many of our clients, for a vari- metres, ballast systems, and navigation OstiaEdge. ESRG says that this combina- printed as soon as bunkering is completed. ety of applications,” said Brian Staton, systems. WR System’s Emsys is a laser tion of emissions data and engine per- Back-flow oil is measured as a negative vice-president of sales and marketing. driven system which monitors emissions formance analytics can be used to tune and therefore reflected as bunkers not “They told us what they needed and and particulate matter (PM). Installed the engine and generators to ensure having been delivered. how they wanted the information to be within the funnel space, Emsys can emissions compliance as well as opti- Bunker history, including aeration per- displayed. We have paid close attention to monitor up to 10 exhaust stacks with mise the engine for fuel efficiency. centage, is also stored. their input in developing this product.” Dubai maritime authority pays 5 Ukraine deals for CrewInspector Singapore an IT visit www.crewinspector.com and Sea Gold in Kherson, and Navis Crew http://dmca.ae ing procedures using IT technologies, Management (NCM) and Kaas Crew www.mpa.gov.sg including vessel licensing and permits, CrewInspector, a software provider head- Services in Odessa. crew assessment, licensing and certifica- quartered in Latvia, has recently won con- Andy Lipsberg, co-owner of Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA) tion and bunkering permits. tracts with five crew recruitment and crew CrewInspector, explained: “We see that has announced that it recently completed a “DMCA is currently in the process of management agencies based in Ukraine. companies are looking for straightforward technology benchmark visit to the Maritime introducing a range of maritime services, Its software, which is also called software solutions not requiring long and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore as many of which are being offered for the CrewInspector, is primarily designed for setup and integration.” part of on-going efforts to launch a range of first time in the UAE and the region as crewing agents and ship management “CrewInspector offers a high quality maritime services using IT and automation. well,” said Mahmoud Ewidah, senior companies. It aims at helping with crew solution at a very attractive price and DMCA and MPA recently renewed a manager – IT, DMCA. database, scheduling, certificate manage- that’s the main reason why we are so pop- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) “It is imperative that we conduct tech- ment, payroll calculations and customer ular among start-up and middle-size crew between the parties on maritime coopera- nology benchmark visits to some of the invoicing. management agencies. At the same time, tion. During their visit, members of the world’s leading ports authorities to The Riga-based provider says that its we fully satisfy the needs of larger organi- Dubai delegation discussed with their explore best practices and technologies five recently signed Ukrainian clients are sations as well, thanks to CrewInspector’s Singaporean counterparts marine licens- which DMCA can eventually adopt.” KDM Shipping in Kiev, Wellteam Marine scalability.” Macsea ramps up Hull Medic CJ Korea Express orders OCTOPUS-Onboard www.amarcon.com measured motions and accelerations that www.macsea.com Hull and propeller performance degra- are collected from the vessel. The integra- dation can cause a 15 to 20 per cent loss in Amarcon, a member of the ABB group, tion of Google Maps provides a viewing of American developer Macsea is ramping vessel efficiency, with a corresponding has announced that it has received an routes and ship positions. up its hull condition monitoring service. increase in fuel consumption, notes order for two OCTOPUS-Onboard motion General manager Leon Adegeest from Called Hull Medic, the system uses auto- Macsea, adding that ship owners can save monitoring systems for heavy freight Amarcon said: “It is good to see that mated, cloud-based data analytics. money through condition-based mainte- cargo vessels from CJ Korea Express. OCTOPUS has become such an estab- Analysis can be done from data already nance. Resulting from the merger between lished name within the heavy lift cargo collected or Macsea can provide an auto- Prices for Hull Medic start at $495 per Korea Express and CJ GLS, CJ Korea shipping sector. In total we have had thir- mated data acquisition system. month per ship for ten ships or more. Express is South Korea’s largest total teen orders for vessels that are involved in cargo delivery company. the heavy lift cargo transportation within Amarcon’s Motion Monitor system the last two months.” Training Matters video (TMS-3), based on three accelerometers, The OCTOPUS product line is part of will be installed on two heavy freight ABB's Vessel Information and Control http://videotel.com managers in Angola. cargo vessels, KOREX SPB no.1 & 2. By (VICO) systems suite. Amarcon, a devel- “Ship owners and ship managers must using OCTOPUS-Online, authorised users oper of vessel motion prediction solutions, Videotel, a London-based provider of comply with increasingly complex legisla- will be able to download and display all was acquired by ABB in August 2012. maritime training material, has released a tion, engage crews that are competent to video to demonstrate the importance of cope with technically advanced equip- good training. ment and deal with an ever growing num- Entitled ‘Training Matters’, it shows ber of ship inspections and audits.” how ship operators can receive what “It does, of course, need to be high Videotel calls a tangible return on invest- quality, effective training that results in ment with more efficient operations; fewer good practices. This will reduce claims accidents; less off-hire time; lower insur- ultimately directed towards owners, ance premiums; improved compliance inspectors, charterers, managers, banks with legislation and a more motivated and insurers.” workforce. The video was shown at a safety semi- “In today’s tough financial and litigious nar organised by Sonangol Shipping, a environment, being trained to minimum subsidiary of the Angolan state oil compa- standards is clearly not adequate,” said ny Sonangol. The company is implement- Nigel Cleave, CEO of Videotel Marine ing a fleet-wide policy requiring all man- International, when introducing the video aged vessels to have Videotel On Demand to an audience of ship owners and ship on board. The CJ Korea Express vessel KOREX SPB No 1 is one of two ships to be installed
Digital Ship September 2013 page 24 p21-30:p1-14.qxd 09/08/2013 15:06 Page 5
Ship Shape
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SOFTWARE NAPA to offer Tidetech current data
www.napa.fi The agreement follows a three-month is pre-defined by NAPA to suit the band- ations Esa Henttinen said: “By adding www.tidetech.org trial aboard a 8,530 dwt cruise ship using width capability of the vessel,” said Tidetech’s accurate oceanographic data to Tidetech’s Singapore and Malacca Straits Tidetech managing director Penny Haire. NAPA’s voyage optimisation solution, we Tidetech has announced that it has models. The deal includes developing an “Integrating our data into optimisation have been able to provide our customers reached an agreement with NAPA to sup- expanded data model to cover the vessel’s systems and software is a relatively sim- with more precise voyage predictions.” ply the Finnish software house with tidal full operating area of Phuket, eastern Thai ple, quick and low-cost way for ships to After the cruise ship trial, NAPA added current prediction data for ship optimisa- waters, the east side of Malaysia and the gain demonstrable percentage savings in Tidetech’s North Sea and English Channel tion, initially for South East Asia and the Malacca and Singapore Straits. bunkerage and emissions.” models to UK–Europe ferry routes. UK–Europe. “We supplied a custom data file which Napa executive vice president for oper- Ms Haire notes that cruise ships and passenger ferries were already well equipped to download data files. “Passenger vessels in particular usually already have broadband connections aboard,” she said. “With optimisation solutions in place, it’s relatively straightforward to integrate the data once downloaded.” In addition to expanding its South East Asia model to Thai waters, Tidetech says that it is also developing a 100m resolution model for the Singapore Straits and a 1km NAPA will make use of tidal current data from Tidetech for the UK (left) and Malacca Straits (right) under the new agreement model for the South China Sea region. Beltship signs up to ShipServ Trim and list auto-correction for tank gauging
www.shipserv.com the ABS NS5 software so it was a straight- www.psmmarine.com port and starboard. forward decision to use ShipServ to help PSM notes than when trim and list are ShipServ has announced that Beltship us with our purchasing activity.” PSM, a UK-based manufacturer of marine not taken into account, readings of the liq- Management Limited (BML) has signed Lars Bratshaug, vice president Sales control instrumentation, has released a uid volumes can be inaccurate. up to its TradeNet maritime e-commerce EMEA for ShipServ, said: “We are new version of its tank gauging system It says that its latest tank gauging system platform. delighted to welcome Beltship to the which can take into account a ship’s trim combines the level measurement transmit- Monaco-based BML manages six bulk ShipServ community. To bring such and list. ters with a display and control system that carrier vessels for a mining giant, as well a highly-respected manager onto Two options are available, both using is capable of calculating the required cor- as three self-discharging bulk carriers in a TradeNet really demonstrates that hydrostatic level transmitters. For draft rections to take account of uneven keel transshipment project in Sierra Leone. ShipServ is the preferred partner for measurement only, two transmitters are and/or trim. PSM says that its system thus TradeNet connects ship owners and shipmanagers.” installed, fore and aft. To also take provides automatic correction of the tank managers with maritime suppliers. Shipmanagement clients include account of trim, four transmitters can be volumes based upon measurement of the Beltship will connect to ShipServ Anglo-Eastern Shipmanagement, MMS installed, adding one each mid-ship on vessel’s draft and/or inclination. through the ABS NS5 software suite which Co Ltd, MK Shipmanagement, Bernard it has already been using for purchasing Schulte Shipmanagement (Deutschland), and planned maintenance. Goodwood Shipmanagement, OSM Free App to follow freight and Marjolijn van Tiel, purchasing manager Shipmanagement and Wilhelmsen at Beltship, said: “Beltship is already using Shipmanagement. commodity swaps markets
www.freightinvestor.com FIS managing director John BASSnet for Icon Offshore fleet Banaszkiewicz said: “Today’s freight and Freight Investor Services, a UK-based commodity swap markets are unrecognis- www.bassnet.no help users plan and execute fleet mainte- broker of freight and commodity swaps, able from when FIS was founded 10 years www.iconoffshore.com.my nance, manage their global stock of spare has launched a free mobile App that ago. We have seen the development of parts, and standardise job practices, mate- helps users keep an eye on the markets new liquidity, new products, new services Norwegian software developer BASS has rial procurement and reporting of equip- it covers. like clearing and new entrants who want announced that Malaysian company Icon ment condition. The module ‘pushes’ Available for both iOS and BlackBerry to access information on the move.” Offshore has decided to install three of its information, reminders and alerts regard- devices, the FIS App indicates market “The FIS App enables these players ship management modules on all 34 ves- ing key maintenance issues. prices for dry freight, iron ore, steel and to keep up to speed with the market, sels in its fleet. BASSnet Procurement is a purchasing scrap, coking coal, fertilizers and fuel oil. putting our prices, daily reports and for- The deal covers the BASSnet system covering the procurement cycle It also displays forward curves and histor- ward curves on a mobile platform for the Maintenance, Procurement and HR from budgeting to electronic approval of ical spot prices, and provides FIS daily first time.” Manager modules. expenses. reports, including closing curves, com- The FIS App can be downloaded for Based in Kuala Lumpur, Icon Offshore BASSnet HR Manager is a web-based mentaries, spreads and ratios. free by visiting the App Store or is the holding company of Icon Ship module designed for crew planning and The App is available in both English Blackberry App World. Links to down- Management and Icon Fleet. Its fleet com- scheduling. and Mandarin and users can customise it load locations can also be found on the FIS prises 34 offshore support vessels. BASS’ vice president of Sales – Asia to deliver the prices, reports and chart website. Users must register for an “Prior to the merger, Icon Ship Pacific Mark Ravi said: “We are very data for the commodities and contracts account and will receive confirmation of Management was already using BASSnet pleased to have won the confidence of Icon that are of most relevance to them. access on approval by FIS. solutions, while Icon Fleet utilised a Offshore as their stringent decision-making planned maintenance system from anoth- process shows that BASS meets the high er service provider,” said Icon Offshore’s standard for cost-effectiveness and produc- CIO Zaleha Abdul Hamid, who also over- tivity gains that companies must have to sees the integration of IT solutions. thrive in the turbulent maritime industry.” “After evaluating the two systems, it Existing users of BASS software include was clear that BASSnet has a distinct edge, Neptune Orient Lines, headquartered in and we opted to adopt it across the fleet.” Singapore, South Africa-based liner BASSnet fleet management systems are Grindrod Shipping, French luxury cruise built on the Microsoft .NET platform. liner Compagnie du Ponant, IMC BASSnet Maintenance is designed to Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, NYK and K-Line. The FIS app is free to download for iOS and BlackBerry devices
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SOFTWARE
SVIS 2.0 Mr Norman added: “Charterers will be better able to predict a vessel’s perform- ance, while seamlessly considering emerg- www.rightship.com ing risk factors. A terminal will benefit from a more bespoke service and ensure Ship vetting company RightShip has chosen physical vessel fit. A ship owner can bench- IBM’s predictive analytics to upgrade its mark its fleet in real time with tremendous online risk management system SVIS (Ship accuracy and access more insightful meas- Vetting Information System). SVIS 2.0 will urement techniques. Banks and insurers be launched in the first quarter of 2014. can integrate our data with in-house sys- It will be powered by IBM’s Cognos tems to more precisely quantify risk.” Business Intelligence and SPSS Predictive Alan Morgan, Business Analytics Analytics software, and will be designed Software sales manager at IBM Australia, and optimised for smartphones and tablets. said: “In order to continue to be an industry RightShip’s CEO Warwick Norman said: leader in maritime risk and safety, “Risk management in the maritime indus- RightShip was looking to transform their try is paramount. In today’s business envi- systems to deliver greater information ronment, marine industry operators must access to its customers, enhancing their be able to efficiently and cost effectively level of service. IBM's expertise in business assess the suitability of a nominated vessel. analytics is a key component of that vision.” RightShip is the first vetting company to “The integrated IBM solution offers harness the power of Big Data and predic- RightShip an agile, scalable and flexible tive analytics will bring a new dimension to means through which a smarter analytics our risk management system, including approach can assist them in their on-going deeper and exciting customer insights." growth as a leader in the maritime industry.” “The system will allow RightShip to The project will be led by Bryan better target substandard performance and Guenther, who joined RightShip in February forecast risk dynamically in response to 2013 and was responsible for the design, changing factors and with much greater development and implementation of BP accuracy.” Shipping’s vetting system called iMAS. ClassNK releases EEDI calculation software
www.classnk.or.jp When calculating EEDI, external factors such as the wind, waves, tides, shallow ClassNK has announced the development waters, and displacement during speed of a new software system, PrimeShip- trials can be corrected for to allow for GREEN/PSTA (Progressive Speed Trial higher accuracy when determining a Analysis), to help shipyards comply with ship’s speed in calm sea conditions, so EEDI requirements. ClassNK has also developed the software Amendments to MARPOL Annex VI to provide a straightforward method for intorducing an Energy Efficiency Design compensating for external factors in pro- Index (EEDI) for the prevention of pollu- gressive speed trial analysis. tion from ships came into force from This analysis method is based on ISO January 2013, enforcing mandatory EEDI Standard 15016:2002, recognised in the calculation and EEDI regulation values for IMO EEDI Guidelines '2012 Guidelines on vessels contracted from 1 January 2013 survey and certification of the Energy onwards. Efficiency Design Index (EEDI)'. The new software from ClassNK is PrimeShip-GREEN/PSTA is provided used to analyse the results from speed tri- to shipyards free of charge, with applica- als and calculates a ship’s speed in calm tion forms available for download from sea conditions. the ClassNK website. Westsea Marine installs MPM on newbuild PSVs
www.marinesoftware.co.uk be the best cost effective option. (It’s) extremely user friendly, offering an excel- UK-based Marine Software has recently lent product support helpdesk if required. delivered Marine Planned Maintenance Our engineers on the vessels have com- (MPM) systems for two newbuild mented on this fact and the transition time Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) for for implementation was very short." Westsea Marine. Heaquartered in Perth (Australia), Westsea Marine trans- ports large, oversize and bulky cargos for the mining, oil and gas industries. The contract covers two 77m PSVs and fol- lows an earlier contract in 2012 to supply MPM software on four tugs. Westsea Marine says that it chose Marine Software because “we Two Westsea vessels will be installed under the deal found their product to
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Digital Ship Damen Shipyards rolls out ERP system
www.damen.com The IFS software includes supply chain www.ifsworld.com elements, engineering, planning job preparation and manufacturing modules. Damen Group, which operates 40 ship- Galati is now using the Finance, HR, yards around the world, is to roll out a Distribution, Manufacturing and Projects uniform Enterprise Resource Planning applications and will soon implement all (ERP) system across its various locations. other modules. IFS 7.5 went live at its Romanian Damen’s new shipyard in Haiphong, branch in Galati this week, following an Vietnam, is scheduled to go live in late earlier implementation at Damen’s head- 2013. Damen plans to roll out the IFS soft- Enhanced quarters in Gorinchem, the Netherlands. ware there and at its various branches Damen explains that with this system, worldwide in the next few years. it wants to keep a closer watch on stock “Implementing IFS software across our levels, plan more expeditiously and trans- various branches will make it easy for us Productivity. parently, and improve efficiency through- to track the entire logistical process,” said out the supply chain. Marc de Thouars, director of Group IT at Damen Shipyards Group. “By having a better understanding of the sup- ply chain, we can shorten throughput times, optimise procurement, and drastical- ly reduce the number of rush orders. Installing a streamlined supply chain supported by a standard ERP solution will bring Damen will roll the system out worldwide calm to the organisation.”
Maritime technology R&D venture in Japan
www.mijac.co.jp
A new joint venture to pursue R&D proj- ects on various types of maritime tech- nologies has been established in Japan, featuring a number of the country's ship- yards as well as other leading companies in its shipping sector, such as ClassNK and NYK (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha). MIJAC, the Maritime Innovation Japan Corporation, began operations on July 1 2013, with head offices based in Tokyo and a staff of 14. The full list of MIJAC cooperating partners includes Oshima Shipbuilding, Shin Kurushima Dockyard, Tsuneishi Shipbuilding and Sanoyas Shipbuilding, in addition to ClassNK and NYK. ‘Our vision is to take Japanese maritime MIJAC was created with share capital technology to a new level’ - Masato of ¥10,000,000 Japanese Yen (approximate- Nobuhara, MIJAC ly US$100,000), split between the cooperat- ing companies, with Oshima Shipbuilding, shipbuilding, shipping and maritime tech- Shin Kurushima Dockyard, Tsuneishi nology up to a new level and make them Shipbuilding and ClassNK owning 19.7 known to the world as Japanese technolo- per cent each, Sanoyas Shipbuilding con- gies,” he said. trolling 14.95 per cent, and NYK taking the “Our customers include cargo owners remaining 6.25 per cent. utilising ocean shipping, maritime ship- These companies will then provide the ping companies handling ocean shipping, funding for MIJAC’s research and devel- shipbuilding companies that build the opment activities, which will focus on ships, classification societies that handle technologies in the fields of ship design, the ship surveys, and marine equipment ship construction and ship operations manufacturers that produce major equip- technology, as well as new innovations to ment for shipboard use.” GL ShipManager. reduce CO2 and other hazardous sub- “Doing research and development stances discharged by ships and to pro- together with our customers is our motto, You need a smart solution that supports your technical, quality & safety mote the efficient use of marine energy. and we always make our efforts to put our and crewing requirements, overall operations, and procurement and Masato Nobuhara, general manager of customers' interests first. We ask cus- ƂPCPEGFGRCTVOGPVU9GQHHGT).5JKR/CPCIGTCPKPVGITCVGFKPHQT the Technical Strategy Group at tomers directly about what their needs are, OCVKQPU[UVGOVJCVUKORNKƂGUFCVCOCPCIGOGPVDGVYGGPQHƂEGCPF Monohakobi Technology Institute, a whol- and through them we rapidly get a precise UJKRsRTQXKFKPIKPETGCUGFRTQFWEVKXKV[CPFVTCPURCTGPE[ ly owned NYK subsidiary responsible for sense of global trends and changes that we R&D at the company, has been appointed will always make our efforts, at full speed, as the first president of MIJAC. to tackle with the objective of developing “With MIJAC positioned at the centre, technologies that are among the best in our vision is to take the state of Japanese the world.” www.gl-maritime-software.com
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SOFTWARE Steaming into the cloud Cloud-based bunkering intelligence can help fleet operators gain tighter control over their fuel budgets and enable savings of up to five per cent of bunkering budgets, using the latest technology to gain unprecedented levels of intelligence to inform their decision making, writes Jean-Herve Jenn, Inatech
n the wake of the global economic cri- the price for a particular stock is most By analysing the bigger picture, setting huge volumes of rapidly changing data. IIsis, competition between operators is attractive, or making the most of fuel tank out a bunkering plan and taking control of The simplicity of a single interface pre- fierce and the ability to control costs is capacity by stocking up where the prices bunkering procurement, shipping compa- senting this range data helps to inform becoming ever more important in the drive are lowest. nies can make significant savings. decision-making. for profit, with efficient fuel procurement But with ship crews often overlooking Cloud-based solutions for bunker man- being one area where cost control can the big picture, they frequently present Appeal of the cloud agement and procurement are likely to translate into financial performance. purchasing professionals with last-minute Much has been written about the corpo- change the game of shipping in the next While fuel is one of the biggest ticket requests for fuel. rate world’s move to cloud-based systems few years. While the traditional approach- items for fleet operators in the shipping Other issues include vessels having to in the last few years but only now are cor- es are prone to human error, modern sys- industry, engaging effectively in the $180 bunker in ports close to their route, porations starting to realise the benefits as tems are based on live bunker fuel prices, billion market for bunker fuel is far from despite fuel prices being held lower else- super-fast broadband becomes the norm. which are fed in from a global network of simple. suppliers. Vessel operators are always looking at how to reduce their bunkering costs, Realising savings which can reach 60 per cent of an operat- But while it is claimed that smart fuel pro- ing budget, equivalent to billions of dol- curement can save fleets between two and lars for a large fleet. five per cent of their bunkering budget, With this in mind, even a small per- how have these figures been established? centage improvement can have a signifi- In the typical case of a vessel that con- cant impact on a fleet’s financial viability, sumes 75 tons of fuel a day at a cost of and using proof-of-concept evaluations on $625 per ton, the ship’s operator will need real-world operational data it’s been esti- to stretch to $12.7 million to keep the ves- mated that savings of up to five per cent of sel moving. a bunkering budget are possible. By streamlining the vessel’s procure- Taking a holistic view of fuel manage- ment using a cloud-based procurement ment into account, this can equate to sav- system, the shipping operator can opti- ings on the bottom line of up to $630k per mise fuel consumption and make signifi- ship, so it’s well worth the time of any fleet cant savings. operator to consider how to use modern This is achieved by – firstly – using a cloud-based technology to make the best systematic workflow tool that avoids last possible use of their resources. minute purchases that force the operator’s hand in fuel purchasing. Specialist procurement Secondly, an in-built ‘best buy’ process teams will support fuel-purchasing negotiations. An operator may well have a fleet of over Lastly, the solution that is used must ide- 500 ships, submitting an average of 20 Cloud-based systems can offer faster updates to data, allowing for improved planning. ally integrate operations and claims han- Photo: Sam Johnston fuelling requests per day to a global bunker dling as it will help ensure accuracy of data purchasing team of fewer than 10 people. about both quality and quantity of fuel. This small team of experts has the role where; bunkering more fuel than is Freeing up businesses from the cost and Predicting the ship’s route while taking of keeping fuel costs down to a minimum, required; or under-utilising vessel capaci- complexity of purchasing and maintaining fuel consumption, availability and price keeping the fleet fuelled and delivering ty, as well as planning for available time expensive IT systems, cloud computing trends into account, it’s possible to make a cargo whilst taking into account many slots and barge pump capacity. gives the opportunity to subscribe to serv- saving of $40 (or more) per ton of fuel variables, including ship speeds, loading ices as and when they’re needed rather from port to port, or even within ports. and routes. Old and new than committing to a long-term solution. By adapting business processes across Bunker procurement is something of a While the conventional approach has been There’s no need to purchase a server or bunkering, operation and supplier organ- dark art because the market for marine for bunker procurement teams to rely on a new licence when storage space can be isations, companies can achieve the high- fuels is a complex one, with price and avail- manually updated computer spread- rented in a data centre and the same data er limit of savings but it’s vital to have ability of different grades and blends vary- sheets, or even on paper-based systems, centre can host specialist software solu- buy-in from the very top echelons of man- ing widely between ports and port prices the advent of live pricing being available tions, to which a company can subscribe in agement to ensure that the entire fuel being set by local supply and demand. online has ushered in a new era of cloud- its effort to source competitive intelligence. ecosystem embraces fuel management as This leads to low prices for the most based systems. A trend towards cloud-based subscrip- the central tenet of keeping operating common local fuels but ships passing It is often the case that while shipping tion means that businesses are moving costs to a minimum. through on longer voyages can be stung firms’ existing in-house systems have been away from software being an item for major Ultimately, the overall savings on a fuel by an unusually high price for a blend that developed and tailored to suit, they capital expenditure (CAPEX) to operational bill can reach as high as two to five per its crew can find cheaper at its home port. require manual updates, which can lead to expenditure (OPEX), requiring far simpler cent, which translates to savings from Introduced in part to combat the impact errors and make it tricky to monitor con- internal approval and sign-off procedures. $250k to $630k per vessel per year – a sig- of the recession, the practice of ‘slow stantly moving fuel prices in real time, cal- Bunker purchasing intelligence is one nificant figure when an operator might steaming’ and ‘super slow steaming’, culate margins and make the best deals. area that is well suited to being hosted in have a fleet of 500 ships. designed to cut fuel consumption, has A modern system will give today’s pur- the cloud, making it easy to integrate with In a business where times are tough, added an extra layer of complexity in chasing professionals better access to mar- other standard shipping management sys- smart bunker procurement may well rep- recent years. By reducing ships’ speeds ket data than ever before, and when com- tems, as well as scaling up to meet the resent the competitive edge that CEOs are from 25 knots down to 20 knots and 12 pared to real-time information on ship growing and changing demands of a fleet as seeking. DS knots respectively, operators can make location and route, allows procurement its operation evolves, either by the addition significant fuel savings. teams to build up an accurate bunkering of more vessels, additional procurement About the author It’s often the case that while a ship plan for individual ships and entire fleets. staff or changes to the operating routes. Jean Hervé Jenn is CEO of might secure bunkering in a port, it might Analysis of bunker prices at a range of Today’s modern bunker management Inatech, a provider of intelli- be worth holding off for a lower price else- alternative ports allows shipping opera- systems enable traders to compare prices gent cloud-enabled and on- where, stocking up on only enough to tors the opportunity to optimise their and develop scenarios that keep overall premise consulting, enter- travel between the two, cutting speed to orders for bunker fuel, finding the most costs down, with interfaces designed to prise resource planning services and conserve fuel until reaching a port where cost effective plan for a given vessel. help them access, monitor and analyse marine solutions
Digital Ship September 2013 page 30 p31-52:p15-25.qxd 09/08/2013 16:02 Page 1 What do these market leaders have in common?
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION Raytheon for Nor Lines and NSC
http://ecdis24.raytheon-anschuetz.com supplied and commissioned by required by the ECDIS performance Shipyard, in the Philippines. Raytheon Anschütz’ Norwegian distrib- standard IEC61174, a trackball, DVD They are scheduled to start operating in Raytheon Anschütz has won a contract utor, Syberg AS. drive and cabling. It also includes an 2014 under a long-term charter with to supply its ECDIS 24 system to “With ECDIS 24 we can offer customers integrated automatic switch-over Compania Chilena de Navegacion Norwegian shipowner Nor Lines, as part both a proven, easy to operate ECDIS soft- between AC and DC power supply, so Interoceanica (CCNI). of a retrofit programme, and has also has ware and a dedicated hardware solution an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) is Raytheon will supply integrated navi- been selected by German shipowner to meet the particular needs of a cost-effi- not required. gation from the Synapsis Intelligent NSC to supply its Synapsis INS cient retrofit,” said Jörn Fischbach, sales The exchange of data, routes and charts Bridge Control series in accordance with (Integrated Navigation System) to a manager at Raytheon Anschütz. between the two ECDIS on board is facili- IMO’s new INS Performance Standards. series of containership newbuildings. “ECDIS 24 comes as a turn-key solu- tated via a LAN network cable. The bridge system will consist of four Under the contract with Nor Lines, tion, easy to install and without any hid- One ECDIS on each Nor Lines ship will Synapsis multifunctional workstations, X- Raytheon will supply ten ECDIS 24 den cost for the shipowner.” also be equipped with an integrated and S-band radar sensors, NautoPilot systems for installation on board five The ECDIS 24 retrofit package consists weather overlay. 5300, a steering gear control system, and a ships, with MV Cometa the first vessel of a 24-inch TFT Panel-PC, an interface This new feature combines sea chart gyro compass system. Navigation sensors to be refitted. All five shipsets will be box providing necessary interfaces and weather chart in one display. All and a radio communication system are weather parameters are presented as val- also included. ues or symbols on a separate layer and can A workstation can process tasks such be switched on and off at any time. as Radar, ECDIS, Conning, or third party These parameters include the mean applications simultaneously. Operators wind (with direction and speed) as well as have central access to the different appli- gusts, wave height, wave direction and cations by using the task switch on the swell, period intervals of waves and swell, screen. current, air pressure, weather conditions The workstations are connected and air temperature. through an Ethernet ring network. A soft- In addition to the ECDIS retrofit solu- ware framework offers the central pro- tion, Raytheon Anschütz is also offering cessing of formerly local organised tasks. approved manufacturer-specific ECDIS “Delivering an IMO-certified online training free of charge, in cooper- Integrated Navigation System was ation with Safebridge. Land-based train- surely a key reason for us being selected ing courses at training centres around as the supplier to this project,” said the world will additionally be made Jens Falkenberg, sales manager at available. Raytheon Anschütz. German operator NSC will see “Being the first manufacturer who Raytheon integrated navigation systems gained IMO type approval for Integrated supplied to a series of 9,000 TEU vessels Navigation also underlines the innovative currently being built by Korea's Hanjin technology and the high standards we are Raytheon’s ECDIS 24 system will be installed on five Nor Lines ships Heavy Industries & Construction’s Subic used to delivering.” Safebridge adds online course for CEACT updated to version 2.6
the Imtech SeaGuide www.sevencs.com tion for rivers, along a route and at open sea, CEACT now is expanding into the www.safebridge.net After the release of the Imtech SevenCs, and partner CEACT in the US, workboat market in coastal areas.” www.imtechmarine.com SeaGuide course, Safebridge managing have announced the release of version 2.6 “All CEACT customers will benefit director Ulf Steden said: “We are draw- of the CEACT software system. from our special update conditions for the Safebridge, a Hamburg-based training ing closer to our goal of providing a com- The navigation software, specifically new version CEACT 2.6. New clients can provider, has released its eighth online prehensive range of flexible, cost-effec- designed for professional towboats and get a free trial to experience the best type-specific training course for the tive, online courses for all major ECDIS workboat operations engaged in inland CEACT ever.” Imtech SeaGuide ECDIS. suppliers in anticipation of increasing river navigation, will The Imtech SeaGuide ECDIS works as demand for type-specific training.” now be able to read BSB a generic system but also includes the “This was the last of the releases com- raster charts, NOAA / additional features of radar overlay, pleted in the first half of 2013. The sec- USACE charts and ARPA targets, AIS and Navtex interface ond half will include the release of one overlays as well as all and integrated conning. further new course and then be followed official ENC charts “The Safebridge training course is by a series of updates to those existing worldwide. fully approved by Imtech Marine courses, where the manufacturers have “Since 2002 we have Germany and in compliance with all released new software versions.” constantly developed relevant regulations,” said Jürgen “The phased schedule for mandatory CEACT in accordance Ostrowitzki, head of Product (ECDIS) carriage is still only in its first with our customers’ Management at Imtech Marine Germany. year but we are already seeing growing feature requests. With “The training on our equipment is now demand for our online courses as cus- more than 50 per cent available worldwide via the web at a tomer awareness and understanding market share most of price that does not have a major impact of the requirements of STCW 2010 the US workboats can on the cost of implementation.” increase. The next carriage milestone has now benefit from the Safebridge says that seafarers must just come into effect in July 2013 and best CEACT ever,” said complete an IMO 1.27 generic training applies to new-build cargo vessels of Bjoern Roehlich, sales before taking its type-specific courses, 10,000 GT and over. Whilst this will not director at SevenCs. which represent 16-18 hours of study have a major impact on the training “We reduce work- in a three-week window. It says that market immediately, the growth in load, improve efficiency schedule allows the student enough the installed base of ECDIS equipment and allow safe naviga- time to use the “FreePlay” feature together with safety considerations and tion for all professional to access the ECDIS software in simula- the full operational implementation of users. With multiple tion mode over the internet and practice existing ECDIS installations is driving chart formats and real-life scenarios, prior to taking the demand forward.” advanced CPA calcula- CEACT can calculate CPA on river miles, route or open sea online test.
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Digital Ship Totem ECDIS now compatible with AIO NauticalCatalog to order Jeppesen ENCs www.totemplus.com displaying the same information directly delivering the UKHO’s trusted ‘Notices to over the ENC. It is a free service to Mariners’ data in a digital format that can http://jeppesen.com Totem Plus has announced that its ECDIS Admiralty Vector Chart Service (AVCS) automatically be integrated with electronic is now compatible with the Admiralty customers and it includes worldwide charts, the AIO is a vital tool in our efforts Jeppesen has launched NauticalCatalog, a Information Overlay (AIO) provided by Admiralty Temporary and Preliminary to support safe, efficient navigation.” web-based application allowing maritime the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office Notices to Mariners (T&P NMs) and ENC Within the Totem ECDIS, the AIO dis- customers to order its Electronic (UKHO). Preliminary Notices to Mariners (EPNMs). play is a selectable feature that can be Navigational Charts (ENCs), PRIMAR Seafarers around the world use the Dudi Shefer, product manager at Totem switched on and off. When passage plan- ECDIS Service and Professional+ chart weekly Admiralty “Notices to Mariners” Plus, said: “We are delighted that Totem ning and route checking, the AIO is used data. to manually update paper charts. ECDIS is now compatible with the to ensure the Mariner has all the latest Users can plot routes from their The AIO does this job automatically, Admiralty Information Overlay (…) By information. ECDIS/ECS, automatically selecting If there is an AIO object of interest, this charts that intersect any given route and can be transferred to the ECDIS in moni- exporting/importing routes in 18 toring mode. This process removes the ECDIS/ECS formats. After logging into necessity to turn on the whole AIO display NauticalCatalog, they can auto-select when critical navigation is underway. charts for any route and calculate the Hugh Phillips, head of products at aggregated cost. UKHO, said: “We are very pleased to be They may order chart licences from working together with Totem Plus in order their chart distributor or directly from to provide Totem ECDIS users with the Jeppesen. essential navigational information provid- Order history can be saved for later ed by the Admiralty Information Overlay.” reference. NauticalCatalog lets users “We are working closely with leading review orders for approval, and pro- ECDIS manufacturers like Totem Plus to vides reports of orders and costs ensure that as many vessels as possible that incurred. are navigating digitally can share the benefits A Boeing company, Jeppesen says that of the updates provided by our AIO service.” the ability to easily view and renew the Based in Israel, Totem Plus says that its entire vessel portfolio is a feature that has ECDIS was the first in the world to pro- been particularly well-received by early vide collision avoidance in the form of users. When using NauticalCatalog, oper- Decision Support Tools. ators have a full overview of available Implementing a free upgrade policy, it charts with an “ordering wizard” to help invites users to get the required software select the right chart for a given voyage patch that includes the AIO module. or route. AIO data can now be displayed on an ENC on the Totem Plus ECDIS
KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING...
The Marinestar Manoeuvring System provides high accuracy position, course and speed - both in the forward direction and athwartships.
Marinestar assists manoeuvring in restricted ZDWHUVDQGFRQ¿QHGSRUWDUHDV4XD\GLVWDQFH calculation aids berthing of large vessels.
Marinestar can be integrated within ships bridge systems to provide stable accurate, position course and speed data. This is especially valu- able to ships using electronic charting.
Fugro Satellite Positioning, Norway Tel: +47 21 50 14 00 Fax: +47 21 50 14 01 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.fugromarinestar.com
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
India’s first navigation satellite launched First Praxis installation for SES
www.isro.org Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C22, www.ses-marine.com strategic location and a highly trained 20 minutes after take-off from Satish team of engineers. We are used to carrying The Indian Space Research Organisation Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The Ships Electronic Services (SES) is to supply out installation and testing around a (ISRO) has launched the first satellite in solar panels of the 1,425 kg satellite were North Star Shipping (Aberdeen) with a working vessel as our engineers’ profes- the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite deployed automatically. Machine Alarm and Monitoring system sionalism ensures there is no interference System (IRNSS). After injection into elliptical orbit, developed by Netherlands-based bridge with the ship operations and the system The entire IRNSS constellation of seven ISRO's Master Control Facility in Hassan systems manufacturer Praxis. can integrate with other ships’ services as satellites is planned to be completed dur- (Karnataka) assumed control of the satel- SES is the UK’s sole supply and service soon as testing is complete.” ing 2015-16. IRNSS is designed to provide lite. It has since conducted five orbit provider for Praxis, and North Star “Praxis has built an excellent reputa- position information in the Indian region manoeuvres to position the satellite in its Shipping is its first customer for the new tion for functionality and reliability and and 1,500 km around the Indian mainland. Geosynchronous Circular Orbit at 55 product range. we are looking forward to carrying out a It would provide two types of services: degrees East. North Star’s vessel Grampian Frontier large number of installations in the com- Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - to all A number of ground stations responsi- will be fitted with the new system, sup- ing months.” users - and Restricted Services (RS) - only ble for the generation and transmission of plied and fitted by SES. Wiring for the In related news, SES has also announced to authorised users. navigation parameters, satellite control, system commenced during the vessels new relationships with Iridium The first satellite of the constellation, satellite ranging and monitoring have been dry dock lay up in July with final installa- Communications and Raytheon Anschütz. IRNSS-1A, was placed into orbit by ISRO's established in 15 locations across India. tion carried out during August while the The company has been appointed as a vessel is in operation. warranty service provider for Iridium’s “This is a great start for our Praxis rela- Global Service Programme in the UK and tionship, not only are we supplying the will provide support services to customers advanced monitoring system, we have that are using Iridium Pilot through its been able to meet the operator’s require- eight Service Centres in the major ports of ments for part installation during dry England and Scotland. dock and completion of the installation at Raytheon Anschütz has appointed SES sea,” said SES director Colin Anderson. as its sole distributor and service provider “This has been possible due to our for the UK, effective from August 2013. Alaska extends AIS coverage
www.exactearth.com MXAK expects this new hybrid AIS and satellite tracking system to address all The Marine Exchange of Alaska (MXAK) aspects of the organisation’s mission of is to work with exactEarth to form a new providing services that aid safe, secure, Alaska vessel tracking alliance, built on efficient and environmentally responsible the MXAK PacTracs product offering. maritime operations. India has successfully launched its first navigation satellite. Photo: ISRO PacTracs is a vessel tracking display “The Marine Exchange of Alaska pro- system that utilizes the MXAK’s 100 vides the Alaska maritime community coastal Automatic Identification System with many valuable services, which now (AIS) receivers throughout Alaska. With will include exactEarth's satellite coverage Black box for small ships this new agreement, users will be able to of vessel movements on the open ocean,” upgrade their PacTracs service to include said Chandler Smith of exactEarth-USA. www.amimarine.net date and location of the vessel at any the exactAIS satellite AIS feed from “We are excited to support the PacTracs time,” said Stuart Newman of AMI. exactEarth. vessel tracking application for the Alaska UK-based marine electronics manufactur- “This technology is already available This will expand coverage from the maritime community. We expect there to er, AMI Marine, has launched a VHF on larger vessels where it is recorded on coastal waters around Alaska to include be increasing interest in both North Pacific ‘black box’ recorder for small ships and a their VDR, but below 3,000gt there is no the entire North Pacific and the Arctic, and Arctic vessel tracking, and are proud wireless deck intruder alert. requirement to carry a VDR.” from 45 degrees north latitude all the way to be allied with the Marine Exchange of The VHF recorder saves audio and GPS “The VHF Black Box recorder is an to the North Pole. Alaska to provide this important service.” time, date and location on a supplied SD inexpensive but effective tool to assist card that can be replayed on a PC. AMI owner/operators of smaller vessels to put says that the SD card has enough capacity together an accurate history of events, NAUTIS simulators in Egypt and Australia for around 80 hours and individual files whether it is for evidence or for training are saved at one minute intervals. and education purposes.” www.nautissim.com vring and radar training of coxswains. “We have been working with Telemar AMI has also launched a stand-alone The Rotterdam-based developer says UK to develop a VHF ‘black box’ recorder wireless Deck Guard 1000 intruder alert. VSTEP has announced that it has supplied that its NAUTIS DNV Class A Full Mission that helps provide small ship and work- It is powered by a re-chargeable battery new simulator systems to customers in Bridge simulator allows specialised naviga- boat owners and operators with a means and has a remote arming / disarming Egypt and Australia. tion and ship handling training of coxswains to verify ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore functionality. Six of its NAUTIS Desktop Simulators and maritime personnel alike in full compli- communications together with the time, “We have a strong forward have been installed at the headquarters of ance with the latest STCW requirements. order book for Deck Guard,” Egypt’s Regional Institute for River The simulator features a 240° field of said Mr Newman, “as owners Transport (RIRT) in Cairo. view and an additional projected stern realise that the unit can quickly The equipment was purchased by the view, as well as a Kelvin Hughes Radar sys- pay for itself by savings of cost STC Group to allow the Egyptian River tem for radar training. A NAUTIS and time and inconvenience Transport Authorities (RTA) to provide Instructor Station was also delivered to caused by having to replace certified training. This is part of The SMIT Australia, which focuses on training stolen goods.” Netherlands Initiative for Capacity devel- of maritime personnel aboard fishing and “We have also developed a opment in Higher Education project. recreational vessels. convenient tool for service The main governmental body supervis- VSTEP’s CEO Cristijn Sarvaas said: engineers that make it a lot eas- ing transportation on Egyptian domestic “SMIT is well-known for its high quality ier to diagnose problems on the waterways, the RTA provides profession- training of maritime personnel in the bridge. The NMR183 NMEA al education and training through RIRT region. We are pleased that our NAUTIS Reader is easy to use thanks to for inland navigation personnel and simulators were selected to enhance their its clear, easy-to-read screen trainees at its premises in Cairo. training curriculum. We have previously and menu operation, and is In Darwin, Australia, VSTEP has also delivered multiple NAUTIS simulators to housed in a rugged and com- delivered a NAUTIS simulator to Seafood the Australian Army and Australian vol- pact case that allows it to be and Maritime Industries Training (SMIT) unteer Coastguard and are proud to add The black box is aimed at ships that do not require VDR used anywhere.” for specialised ship handling, manoeu- SMIT to our clients in Australia.”
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More than ECDIS
v Fully in house developed and produced v Almost 25 years of ECDIS experience v Complies with 2014 S-63 Edition 1.1 v Meets current IHO standard v Online TST courses available v Support of AIO for AVCS v Close to 10,000 ECDIS TST trained officers v Global support and after sales service v AVCS pre-installed & C-Map e-Token standard v Over 1,000 trained engineers globally v TST training available in over 30 countries v Solid State Drive for OS and JRC software
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
Korea Lines upgrades navigation software ETC offers SAM and JRC ECDIS training
www.thomasgunn.com partnerships we have built up with our www.etc-training.com tor training under the ETC initiative to customers, and when the choice is made to its partners. Korea Lines is to upgrade the digital chart upgrade it is a validation not only of the ECDIS Training Consortium (ETC) has JRC had already set up a training net- management systems on four LNG gas product but also of the level of service we partnered with SAM Electronics and Japan work worldwide, to which this new train- carriers from Thomas Gunn’s Voyager 3 to have worked hard to achieve.” Radio Company (JRC) to provide training ing capability will be added. the new Voyager 4, with immediate effect. Thomas Gunn says that Voyager 4 has for the companies’ ECDIS products. “Adding ETC to our training locations Cho Han-Ung, principal superinten- one of the best data compression rates ETC is a joint venture of training part- underlines our efforts in this direction and dent, fleet management team 2 at Korea available, to improve data download ners working under the patronage and means a great leap forward in our sales Lines commented that, “We needed a nav- times and reduce costs, and includes a free control of MSG MarineServe GmbH, a sis- and customer support scheme,” said Bas igation solution which would best serve Vessel Management Service to assist in ter company of Safebridge. It comprises 18 Eerden, JRC’s marketing and product the needs of the internationally trading administration. training centres. development manager. vessels operating within our fleet.” Following the new agreements, train- ETC says that ECDIS type-specific “Thomas Gunn’s new Voyager offers a ing on SAM ECDIS CHARTPILOT and training on JRC systems is now available range of options and unique features that ECDISPILOT equipment will be available in more than 30 countries. enable us to navigate safely and efficiently in a variety of formats. ETC partners can “Ship operators will have the advan- in all areas.” provide classroom or on board face-to- tage of even better geographic accessibili- The new version of Voyager offers a face training, while Safebridge offers web- ty and availability of ECDIS classroom complete British Admiralty update serv- based training (WBT) and an off-line PC and onboard training worldwide,” said ice, including key compliance require- solution for on board usage. Prof Ralph Becker-Heins, the instigator ments, Annual and Cumulative Notices to “With a view to the already started of ETC. Mariners, Navarea Warnings and the ECDIS implementation scheme, SAM “All of this will run under assured and Admiralty Information Overlay (AIO). Electronics has best positioned itself monitored quality standards based on a The system downloads, updates and strategically for the upcoming ECDIS standardised course structure, uniform displays both AVCS (Admiralty Vector training demand by bundling its training course material and centralised, strategic, Chart Service) charts and the AIO. activities with Safebridge and ETC,” said course management but with each local In addition, the new Voyager offers a Arne Melzer, vice president Operations - partner guaranteeing the full range number of additional third party services, Automation, Navigation and of local support, services and on-site such as Regs4ships, findaport, AtoBviaC, Communication. tutorship.” Piracy information (via ICC) and Met515, ETC can also provide type-specific train- In addition to SAM Electronics and displayed in one single interface. ing on JRC systems, following its agree- JRC, other ECDIS manufacturers such as “This is great news for Thomas Gunn,” ment with the Japanese manufacturer. Danelec Marine, Imtech Marine, Martek says Mike Bailey, Voyager development MSG MarineServe has been approved Marine, Navico Simrad, Raytheon manager, Thomas Gunn Navigation to run end-user ECDIS training for the JRC Anschütz, Northrop Grumman Sperry Korea Lines’ navigators will have access to Services. a greater range of data with the new JAN701/901-B and JAN 2000 systems, and Marine and Chartworld are also using the “We very much value the long term version of the software to act as JRC’s extended outlet for instruc- ETC training network.
NS5 Enterprise: the trusted name in fleet manamanagementgement software.softwar
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Digital Ship Transas DP simulators for Romania and Greece Havila extends Veripos contract www.transas.com will make it possible to use the Full Nautical Training Centre by the beginning Mission Bridge as a DP simulator Class B. of academic year 2013-2014. Transas Hellas has announced that it has The Mini Bridge Simulators will be In Romania, Transas reports that it has www.veripos.com signed contracts to supply Dynamic extended with two DP1 stations for use as completed an upgrade of the simulator Positioning (DP) simulators to COSMOS a DP simulator Class C. facilities at the Romanian Nautical Veripos, which provides GNSS services, Nautical Training Centre in Greece, and Class C DP infrastructure is currently College, which will allow the College to has announced that Havila Shipping has the Romanian Nautical College. being commissioned, while integration become the first commercial company extended its present contract for position- Transas Class B and Class C DP simu- and commissioning of the DP Class B to offer an accredited DP training course ing services until the end of 2015. Both lators are to be installed at COSMOS arrangement will commence by the end of in Romania. companies are based in Norway. NTC. They will expand the existing the month. As part of the project, Transas upgrad- Under the renewed arrangement, Transas Full Mission Bridge and the Mini Transas says that accreditation by the ed the existing navigational simulator to Veripos will continue to provide its Bridge Simulators. Nautical Institute is expected soon, with the latest NTPRO 5000 software, to Standard 2 dual-beam service aboard nine Adding a DP2 station with MT controls the DP courses starting at the COSMOS ensure that training is in compliance with Havila Shipping offshore support vessels. STCW 2010. The service features both GPS and In addition, a DP tutor and a DP Glonass capabilities in order to increase simulator class 2 were installed in the observation redundancy while ensuring college, to meet the requirements of the positioning to accuracies of 1m or better. Nautical Institute and corresponding Ancillary equipment installed aboard DNV standard. vessels comprises a series of Veripos LD2 With this upgrade the college will be integrated mobile units for generating any able to offer basic and advanced DP cours- proprietary positioning solution. Veripos es, DP refresher training and concept says that they are the only ones of their familiarisation courses. type capable of realising 10cm GPS- The Transas DP simulator features a Glonass solutions. dedicated Instructor DP Panel for monitoring and introducing faults to the DP related equipment. The instructor Alphatron Marine Systems has can introduce faults and errors for signed a deal with Net-Logic to distribute any equipment, including frozen pitch, NavWatch, a dual compass monitor poor GPS coverage, low UPS battery and and selector. even blackouts. All parameters are recorded in a log file for debriefing and playback, which also www.net-logic.co.uk DP simulators will expand the full mission bridge simulators currently in use may include audio and video recording of www.alphatronmarine.nl at COSMOS NTC the trainees’ actions.
Fast, intuitive route planning and navigation monitoring
FMD-3200 [19" LCD] FMD-3300 [23.1" LCD]
Multifunction dislay capability, featuring ECDIS, Conning Information Display, FURUNO provides thoroughgoing ECDIS training programs: Radar/Chart Radar and Alert Management Proper ECDIS training is available at FURUNO’s own training centers, INSTC and at the NavSkills network of training centers. The training programs consist of: Instant chart redraw delivered by FURUNO’s advanced chart drawing engine, • Generic ECDIS training in accordance with IMO ECDIS Model Course 1.27. making redraw latency a thing of the past Presently only available at INSTC Denmark. • FURUNO type specific ECDIS training, available at INSTC Denmark, INSTC Task based operation making the ECDIS operation simple and intuitive Singapore and at the NavSkills facilities: FURUNO Deutschland GmbH, GMC Maritime Training Center (Greece), Fast, precise route planning, monitoring and navigation data management OCEAN TRAINING CENTER (Turkey), Odessa Maritime Training Center (Ukraine), A.S. Moloobhoy & Sons (India), FURUNO Shanghai (China), COMPASS Training Center (Philippines) and VERITAS Maritime Training Center (Philippines) Please contact INSTC Denmark at [email protected] for details. FURUNO ELECTRIC CO., LTD. www.furuno.com
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION Furuno introduces new ECDIS series
www.furuno.co.jp lay, TTM, route and waypoint display on size monitor. identical to the type specific training for the Radar screen. The FMD series ECDIS is fully type the same models provided by Furuno’s Furuno has introduced its new FMD3x00 Furuno says that its FMD3x00 ECDIS approved with existing MU201CE and own training centres in Denmark and series of ECDIS systems which it says has allows for up to five profiles to be cus- MU231CE monitors. Singapore. The syllabus has been devel- been developed based on the insights of tomised by individual watchkeepers. A The systems are delivered pre-loaded oped by INSTC Denmark in compliance commercial navigators. playback function allows the bridge team with official NOAA S57 ENC and IENC with the STCW and ISM Codes as well as The FMD3x00 uses a task-based to replay a voyage for training or review Inland Waterways Charts. with all currently known requirements Graphical User Interface and incorporates purposes. Furthermore, a customisable IMO (International Maritime from flag states. an “InstantAccess Bar” to make features conning display may be utilised by con- Organization) regulations already require Since COMPASS joined the NavSkills accessible. The chart redraw is instanta- necting an additional monitor. ECDIS on certain newly built passenger network in April 2012, it has concluded neous when panning and zooming, and a In this series, the FMD3200 includes a vessels and tankers. New cargo vessels about 170 Furuno type specific ECDIS new spilt screen mode allows for chart dis- 19” LCD display, while the FMD3300 has will be required to fit ECDIS no later than courses for the FEA2107/FEA-2807 and play at different scales on the same screen. a 23” LCD display. Also available is the July 1st, 2014. Existing ships will begin to issued just about 1,000 certificates to The equipment can be networked with FMD3200BB, which is a Black Box version be affected by these regulations at the Filipino navigators. Furuno’s FAR2xx7 Radars for target over- that allows you to connect virtually any same time, with final fitting dates sched- Furuno says that besides the uled for 2018-2019. Philippines, it can provide type specific Furuno says that it has already sold more training for the FMD-3200/FMD-3000 than 5,000 ECDIS units worldwide. To ECDIS in Denmark, Singapore, Germany, design the FMD3x00, its engineers worked Greece, and China. with a focus group comprising experienced commercial navigators to identify what fea- tures were essential, which functions Meridian gyros get weren’t necessary, and how to make elec- tronic navigation more efficient. China type approval In related news, Furuno says that it has added type specific training for the new www.teledyne-tss.com ECDIS FMD-3200/FMD-3300 in the Philippines. Teledyne TSS, a UK-based manufacturer The COMPASS training centre in of gyro compasses, has announced that Manila had training workstations installed the China Classification Society has grant- in May and its instructors have been ed type approval to its Meridian Standard trained through Furuno’s train-the-trainer and Meridian Surveyor gyros. programme. Teledyne TSS notes that this approval The training programme for the FMD- opens the Chinese shipbuilding and off- Furuno has expanded training availability for its new ECDIS systems in the Philippines 3200/FMD-3300 available at COMPASS is shore survey markets for these products. “The Chinese market is very important to us,” said Brian Huntsman, vice presi- dent and general manager of Teledyne Dual gyrocompass solution launched TSS. “Obtaining type approval for China required a major investment by our com- www.net-logic.co.uk this problem is to carry two gyrocompass- The next is HeadingWatch, which mon- pany but I am confident that it will prove es in order to comply with the legal itors vessel course and alarms when a user worthwhile.” Net-Logic has announced the launch of its requirements, but due to the high cost of definable threshold is exceeded, and the The Meridian range is already IMO, new NavWatch Dual Compass Monitor buying two with the required pairing last is DualWatch, a combined display of Wheelmark and Russian Maritime and Selector for use with gyrocompasses. capacity operators often have to rely on course and compass monitor. Register of Shipping approved. Teledyne NavWatch includes an integrated other methods. “Installing NavWatch allows the vessel says that more than 4,000 gyrocompasses Course Monitor which it says provides The company says that NavWatch to use any two gyros in combination are in use aboard ships, boats and sub- system redundancy on any gyrocompass eliminates this problem by allowing any regardless of brand or cost,” said Jack mersible craft. combination from any manufacturer. two gyrocompasses to work together, Robinson, global distribution manager for Positioned at the top of that range is the Ships over 500gt are required to carry a which gives the vessel the opportunity to Net-Logic products. Meridian Surveyor, which Teledyne gyrocompass on board and must employ a select a combination of gyros to suit their “We have also added additional fea- describes as a high-precision gyrocompass fail-safe mechanism in case of error. These needs and budget. tures that monitor your heading while capable of providing dynamic heading errors include a streaming error, where NavWatch comprises three functions. simultaneously monitoring any drift in accuracies of ±0.2⁰ even in extreme sea rapid changes in a vessel’s course, speed The first of these is CompassWatch, Gyros. The system also lets you know conditions. With a settle time of 40 min- and latitude cause deviation before the which monitors input from any combina- exactly which one of the gyrocompasses utes, the instrument can maintain heading gyro can adjust itself. tion of gyrocompass pairing and alarms produced the error and a simple switch accuracies through turn rates as high as Net-Logic notes that the best solution to when a threshold is exceeded. over can avoid a major incident.” 200⁰ per second, says its manufacturer. Next generation EnduraNode embedded computer
www.comarkcorp.com sion slots, and operates on either AC or business development manager Keith DC vehicle input power. All electronics Vreeland. Comark Corporation, an American are conformal coated to protect against designer and manufacturer of ruggedized moisture. custom computer solutions has “Our next gener- announced the next generation of its ation EnduraNode EnduraNode Series, featuring Intel’s i5/i7 Embedded processing options. Computer provides The computer has been tested to meet our customers with the requirements of IEC60945, with type a current technolo- approval for marine applications expected gy rugged comput- this summer. er that meets the Comark says that its EnduraNode sup- requirements of ports up to 16GB RAM, with options for marine and vehicle DVD, PCI express and Legacy PCI expan- environments,” said EnduraNode supports up to 16GB of RAM Meridian gyros – now certified in China
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Digital Ship UK adds eLoran as GPS backup
www.ursanav.com stations will be installed along the South www.gla-rrnav.org and East coast of the UK. The equipment will be replaced in two prototype stations The United Kingdom is to install seven at Dover and Harwich, and five new sta- eLoran stations on its southern and east- tions will be deployed in the Medway, ern coasts, offering passenger and cargo Humber, Middlesbrough, Firth of Forth ships sailing the busy waters of the and Aberdeen. English Channel and the North Sea a back- The GLAs have contracted UrsaNav for up to their GPS systems. the deployment to deliver initial opera- The stations will provide alternative tional capability by summer 2014. Full Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) operational capability covering all major information to ensure that ships equipped ports is expected by 2019. with eLoran receivers can navigate safely The UK is the first country in the world in the event of GPS failure. to deploy this technology for shipping GPS signals are vulnerable to both acci- companies operating both passenger and dental and deliberate jamming – and GPS cargo services. jammers are available online for as little South Korea, which suffered a 16-day as £30. GPS jamming attack by North Korea last Many devices and applications on year, has expressed its wish to establish board ships rely on GPS-based informa- an eLoran alliance with the UK while it tion. ELoran technology is based on long- pursues its own rollout of differential wave radio signals and is independent eLoran stations, due for completion and complementary to GPS. in 2015. The prototype eLoran station already providing signals at Dover will get new equipment, Earlier this year, the General The UK’s Minister of Shipping Stephen and will be one of seven eLoran stations around the UK Lighthouse Authorities (GLA) of the UK Hammond said: “The deployment of and Ireland tested a prototype automatic seven eLoran stations follows the success- resilient PNT (positioning, navigation ful demonstration of eLoran as a resilient receivers to take advantage of the new sta- most advanced of its kind in the world.” and timing) system using eLoran. The tri- PNT technology and puts the UK at the tions. We hope that the maritime industry “The number of enquiries we receive als were carried out aboard the THV forefront of developments to improve will respond proactively to the new sta- about eLoran and other resilient PNT tech- Galatea out of Harwich on several excur- navigational safety.” tions rollout by installing eLoran receivers nology continues to increase and we are sions between 28th February and 1st March Martin Bransby, Research & on more vessels.” now approached for further information this year. Radionavigation manager at the GLAs, Charles Schue, president and CEO of on a daily basis. Much of this is testament Following approval by the UK also noted: “(This) announcement is a sig- UrsaNav, said: “We are very proud to be to the example being set in the UK, raising Department of Transport, it was nificant step towards improving safety at working with the General Lighthouse awareness of the need for a robust backup announced that seven differential eLoran sea, but few vessels currently have Authorities on this project, which is the to GPS.”
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Digital Ship September 2013 page 39 p31-52:p15-25.qxd 09/08/2013 16:03 Page 10
ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION ECDIS training – the reality
International regulations as well as varying demands by different stakeholders necessitate that shipping companies worldwide provide sufficient ECDIS training for their crew – and type-specific training is becoming one of the most important aspects of a seafarer’s education. Julie Ann Chan spoke to officers from Peter Döhle Schiffahrts-KG about their real life experiences of ECDIS training
ccording to the Manila amend- training regulations, with flag state er, most stakeholders accept type-specific erable fleet with Furuno ECDIS. AAments to the STCW Convention administrations, port state control inspec- training that has been approved by the Consequently, the shipping company and Code, every officer sailing on tion requirements and vetting inspection manufacturer. sends its staff to Furuno for type-specific a SOLAS vessel is required to complete regulations all requiring different levels of According to the 2010 Manila ECDIS training. ECDIS training in the next few years. Pro- training to be completed before 2017. Amendments, masters and officers on In order to participate in the type-specif- visions for this transition time need to be For example, the MCA (Maritime and ships fitted with ECDIS need to fulfil ic training, officers need to have successful- taken according to individual national Coastguard Agency) in the UK stipulates basic competence requirements. This ly completed a generic ECDIS training regulations, with respect to both generic that both generic and type-specific ECDIS knowledge is conveyed through generic course. Furuno offers type-specific ECDIS as well as type-specific ECDIS training. training should be completed before 2017. ECDIS training. training, but has a BSH-approved coopera- The large number of ECDIS-related In addition, training has to be approved In addition, the Manila Amendments tion agreement with the Department of accidents at sea are the result of a deficit in by the MCA or an EU Member State and stipulate the need for crew to be ‘famil- Maritime studies at Hochschule training, according to major accident failure to provide the respective certifica- iarised’ with safety and navigational equip- Warnemünde in order to provide cus- reports. Crew sailing on ECDIS navigated tion has been known to lead to refusal of ment prior to boarding. This requirement is tomers with generic ECDIS training. vessels agree. recognition and imposition of sanctions. met by type-specific ECDIS training. The combined generic and type-specif- “It is very important to have proper The Australian Maritime Safety Accordingly, type-specific training ic ECDIS training conducted by Furuno training for all the instruments used on Authority (AMSA) has also issued a should convey theoretical knowledge and can be completed within five days on the board,” notes John Grecia from the Marine Notice concerning Port State con- also include practical exercises to famil- premises at Hochschule Warnemünde, Philippines, third officer for shipping trol inspections which says that port iarise crew with the ECDIS equipment where all the relevant simulators and company Peter Döhle, who himself is a inspectors are expected to ensure that both they will use on board, including its back- equipment is provided. trainer (navigation, seamanship etc.). generic and type-specific ECDIS training up arrangements, sensors and related Although the shipping company has its “Without the necessary education, has been undertaken by the master and peripherals. Type-specific training can be own training facility in Manila, where navigators lack the confidence to properly officers in charge of a navigational watch. conducted on-site in a (mobile) classroom type-specific training for Transas and use the instrument and are prone to make Today, ECDIS is a topic of concern for or on board, but also online and via CBT. Sperry Marine units is completed, it coop- mistakes, especially since there is not many shipping companies, especially the ECDIS manufacturer Furuno has been erates with a variety of different training much time for trial and error once the ves- approval of ECDIS training by the differ- offering type-specific ECDIS training for providers, such as Furuno and Safebridge, sel is under way and little room for cor- ent stakeholders as experts urge shipping over two years. for ECDIS from other manufacturers. recting errors.” companies to carefully assess their crew’s In 2011, Furuno set up a type-specific “Shipping companies should ensure “Operating an ECDIS without the prop- need for training. ECDIS training course in Hamburg. Since the quality of the generic ECDIS training,” er knowledge can be very dangerous.” Comprehensive information about the then more than 250 trainees from around says Simon Penz, service and training As a consequence of this training relevant international regulations, set- 30 companies, half of which are German, manager at Furuno in Germany. deficit, international regulations such as down both by the flag state and the have successfully passed the final exam, “We have heard of training institutes in the Manila Amendments to the STCW set respective port states, is essential in order certifying that the required competence other parts of the world where generic down competence requirements making to perform the gap analysis necessary to has been obtained, and have been issued training is offered for a price that suggests ECDIS training mandatory for masters ascertain the shipping companies’ individ- with their certificate. that the training is not conducted very and officers, coming into effect at the ual ECDIS training demands. Trainees come from all over the world to thoroughly. I have been asked by cus- beginning of 2017. Hamburg for the ECDIS training course, tomers if such training is good enough. During the transition period however, Type-specific training although the largest groups of participants Well, you will obtain a certificate for your there is no binding or even clear interna- The regulations on ECDIS training and the come from Ukraine, Russia and Poland. officers but don’t expect quality and don’t tional standard. Different stakeholders requirements with regards to approval by Shipping company Peter Döhle has expect that they know much afterwards.” have set down their own varying ECDIS different entities can be confusing, howev- equipped the largest vessels in its consid- “On the German market the average price for a generic ECDIS training is between €1000 and €1200. If you can get it for $50 somewhere else, you must ask yourself where the difference is. However, although there are notable differences depending on where the generic training has been completed, we have never had a trainee yet that didn’t pass our type-spe- cific training.” In addition, it is helpful if the type-spe- cific training is completed soon after the generic training, though in practice, this varies greatly. Some trainees, says Mr Penz, have liter- ally just finished the generic training a couple of days before, whereas others, especially the younger ones who complete their generic training at the Academy, may have a gap of several years. However, he adds, relevant knowledge from the generic course, such as abbrevia- tions etc, is refreshed during the Furuno training and any trainee with valid certifica- tion can complete the course successfully. “My generic ECDIS training, which I completed in Bombay on a JRC ECDIS, was John Grecia from the Philippines is a third officer with shipping company Peter Döhle, and one of its designated ECDIS trainers six months ago,” notes Kaustubh Gawde
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION
from India, second officer at Döhle. additional day for more hands-on practice quarters in Copenhagen and approved by Döhle’s largest vessels, but say they “I find that there is not such a big dif- would be extremely helpful.” DNV. As part of the company’s overall would have opted for more practical exer- ference between the types of ECDIS that I Mr Penz however notes that Furuno crew training concept, Navskills, all cises if possible. have so far used. Most features are similar shortened the training from three days ECDIS trainers are trained according to “I think I am very well-prepared by the and only some, such as the symbols, the down to two on customers’ requests. the same standards and Furuno training course and will not need to do much addi- display and route planning, are different.” In general, the training course consists centres all over the world use uniform tional work, although I used my spare “I completed my generic ECDIS train- of five to six trainees but can take a maxi- training materials and texts. time after the first day to go through the ing three years ago,” adds Mr Grecia, “but mum of eight if needed. Some shipping By conducting the training on original notes again as there is a lot of information I still remember a lot.” companies, like Peter Döhle, wish to book Furuno software, although not necessarily squeezed into the two days,” Mr Gawde “Ideally, the theoretical knowledge a full course, but it is often difficult to exactly the same version as that used later says. should be conveyed by the generic train- align crew changes in Hamburg, Mr Penz on board, the company aims to see “The instruction we received was in- ing and the type-specific training should notes, and most of the time students come trainees gain first-hand experience, which depth and comprised everything I think I focus more on the practical aspects and from different companies. Furuno offers will enable them to more easily settle into need to know about navigating with a give us more hands-on experience.” fixed dates for the courses, but is flexible if the on board handling of the equipment. Furuno ECDIS,” Mr Grecia adds. Also, says Mr Penz, it is easier to train companies choose to book an entire train- Once the training has been completed “However, I am very pleased that we officers that have not been sailing on ing course. successfully, trainees should be able to go take home a comprehensive manual, ECDIS previously. which will allow me to check up later on “We have made the experience that board if I feel the need to.” trainees, who have used ECDIS for a His colleague from India adds that, while, often develop a certain automa- “compared to other manuals I have come tism,” he explained. across the Furuno handout is very thor- “Then, when they come to the training oughly prepared. However no manual can and we show them that operations can be substitute a knowledgeable instructor. done more efficiently, they often have Luckily we have both!” trouble discarding the old work habit and In terms of the topics covering the dif- adapting to a new routine, especially since ferent functionalities of a Furuno ECDIS, two days is a very short timeframe to the trainees are confident they have learnt change automatic procedures. On the what they need including backup arrange- other hand, trainees with no previous ments, sensors and related peripherals. experience can be guided into the most “An ECDIS unit has more than 600 dif- effective use of ECDIS much easier.” ferent functions, and although we could of Mr Grecia agrees. “A lot of the informa- course not cover every single one we have tion conveyed by the course was new for learned about all the ones that are impor- me as I have never sailed on an ECDIS tant for navigators,” Mr Grecia says. vessel or attended a type-specific ECDIS Mr Gawde agrees: “I feel very confident training course, although I have been sail- that this course has enabled me to handle Peter Döhle’s largest vessels all have Furuno ECDIS installed ing on vessels that use ECS,” he says. any Furuno ECDIS that I might come “I am very pleased that I can use ECDIS across on board. Especially the most impor- correctly from the start. I found the train- tant functions that are required for day-to- ing tremendously helpful and I think it “I appreciate the size of the class,” directly on board and operate the real day work, which we have covered very saved me a lot of time and effort.” notes Mr Gawde. equipment, says Mr Penz. thoroughly during the two days,” he says. “Sometimes, when trainings are less “Small classes enable better interaction In light of the demands created by the thorough, you still need to go back to the between trainees and instructors and dur- The future of navigation various national and international regula- manual again and again in order to dou- ing this training all questions were is paperless tions on ECDIS training, the course has ble-check some information or correct answered thoroughly. The most important Eight Peter Döhle trainees are discussing prepared the Peter Döhle officers for all some action. This, I think, will be obsolete thing is that each of us had their own com- the last two days as their course comes to an eventualities. with the Furuno ECDIS training.” puter to practise on.” end. A lot of information has been covered “The course has prepared me for deal- The course starts with the presentation during the intense training sessions, allow- ing with different regulations concerning Two days, eight students of the most relevant ECDIS functions. ing the students to gather practical experi- ECDIS. We have learned about legal and two trainers During the first day, trainees are famil- ence, and Peter Döhle’s officers feel positive aspects and port state issues, what we Furuno type-specific ECDIS training is iarised with the ECDIS set up, manuals, about the new means of navigation. need if we have an inspection and more,” conducted by a former engineer, compe- documentation as well as chart handling. “The future of navigation is paperless,” Mr Gawde explains. tent in both the technical and operational On the second day, students study sen- says Mr Gawde. “And I learnt a lot about “But the most useful aspect of the course aspects of the equipment, as well as Mr sors, alarms and fall back arrangements, paperless navigation in the Furuno ECDIS was undoubtedly the practical experience, Penz, who has more than 10 years’ experi- learn how to update the software, use training.” especially the route planning, monitoring ence in marine software training. planning tools and finish off with moni- “Things become a lot easier with elec- and the exercises that prepared us for cor- The training is spread over two full toring the route plan. tronic navigation. Especially the manual recting the route on the ECDIS.” days and offers a combination of theoreti- The practical training is conducted not corrections on the paper chart, which I cal and practical elements, containing on the original ECDIS equipment but on found cumbersome, are now much easier.” From the classroom to roughly 60 per cent theory. The exact PCs. However, in order to create a near “The disadvantage of an ECDIS is, of the vessel amount however, says Mr Penz, depends real-life experience, Furuno supplies every course, that it can fail any time and if no Having completed their training duties, on the base knowledge of the respective trainee with the original input unit, the backup ECDIS is on board we have to the outlook of the students at the end of trainees and is adjusted individually in ECDIS control unit, that they will be using resort to paper navigation again.” their type-specific ECDIS training course each class. on board. In addition to those mentioned by Mr is thoroughly positive. The students are Some companies send trainees that “It is most important that trainees learn Gawde, there are a number of other convinced they have learned how to oper- have previously worked with the equip- to operate the control unit properly,” says advantages to paperless navigation, notes ate a Furuno ECDIS safely. ment, so the course can be tailored to con- Mr Penz. Mr Grecia. “This course has taught me to recognise tain more practical exercises. “The trainees need to get used to the “In my opinion, a big plus of electronic every button and know its underlying However, if theoretical knowledge is individual buttons on the control unit and navigation is that the updating is eating function,” says Mr Grecia. lacking, practical exercises are of very lim- learn which function is assigned to which much less into my time. This allows me to “But only day-to-day practise will show ited use, Mr Penz explains. In this case, the button. We have a maximum of eight concentrate on other important tasks at the exact benefit of this ECDIS training.” class focuses on building up the founda- trainees, so that each of them can practise hand,” he says. Indeed, most of them will leave the tions on which practical experience can be on their own unit.” “A CD and a few clicks are enough to course and make their way to their new gained. “In our experience the feel and touch is ensure that I navigate according to the place of work. “Ideally, the course should be a day extremely important. The monitor on most up-to-date chart, whereas if I use “I step out of the Furuno training centre longer to give some more time for prac- board, on the other hand, makes no big paper charts I need to manually draw, and onto the vessel,” concludes Mr Grecia, tice,” Mr Grecia emphasizes, and his col- change to what we use during the training.” erase and correct the route. It is much “and I am sure that the training will league from India agrees. In terms of training material, Furuno more complicated.” enable me to know what I am supposed to “For a really thorough understanding uses its own paper documentation, which In general, the trainees feel well-pre- do with the ECDIS and to do a safe and and some solid practical experience an is issued by the Furuno training head- pared for their future tasks on board Peter good job!” DS
Digital Ship September 2013 page 42 p31-52:p15-25.qxd 09/08/2013 16:03 Page 13
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION Getting more from VDR
VDR equipment is mandatory on a wide range of vessels, and records a vast array of information – but is the maritime industry getting the most out of the information that is provided? A report by OCIMF suggests that shipping companies could be doing more to maximise the benefits of VDR
he Oil Companies International made up between 40 and 60 per cent of all TTMarine Forum (OCIMF), a volun- tanker incidents each year since 1978, tary association of oil companies though this figure has remained at under with an interest in the shipping of oil and 50 per cent in the last five years. gas, has issued a revised edition of its infor- However, OCIMF notes that the pro- mation paper on the use of Voyage Data portion of oil spills caused by collisions Recorders (VDR), with a number of sug- and groundings is a higher proportion – gestions about how the maritime industry approximately 64 per cent between 1974 could improve its use of this technology. and 2010, according to figures sourced In its Recommendations on the Proactive from ITOPF, the International Tanker Use of Voyage Data Recorder Information, Owner Pollution Federation. available from the OCIMF website, the association outlines a number of ways in Learning from aviation which it believes that the shipping industry One of the recommendations made by could make better use of the data collected. OCIMF in its report is to learn from the Mandatory regulations concerning the action taken by other industries in assess- carriage of VDR are contained in chapter ing accident prevention data, particularly V of the Safety of Navigation of the aviation. International Convention for the Safety of On aircraft, Flight Data Recorders, pop- Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS). ularly known as the ‘black box’, perform a These regulations state that passenger similar function to shipboard VDR sys- VDR systems carry a wealth of information that shipping companies could use ships, and ships other than passenger ships tems, collecting a range of data related to to analyse performance. Photo: Hervé Cozanet of 3,000 gross tonnage and upwards, con- the operation of all of the electronic sys- structed on or after 1 July 2002 must carry tems on board as well as audio recordings being observed. hinder any efforts in this regard – if the voyage data recorders (VDRs) to assist in of conversations between members of the Identification of areas where improve- information on the VDR was downloaded accident investigations (though certain flight team. ments can be made will allow the compa- once the ship got to port, any voyage data type of ships are permitted to carry a sim- Various different versions of this tech- ny to provide additional training as older than 12 hours would be lost. plified voyage data recorder, or S-VDR). nology have been in use on aeroplanes for required – and potentially avoid a costly As such, OCIMF suggests that “the The specifications and types of data more than 50 years, giving the aviation accident in the future. ‘standard’ VDR therefore does not lend that must be collected by the equipment industry a significant head start when it itself to facilitate the implementation of are set out in a set of performance stan- comes to the application of this kind of data. Challenges comprehensive voyage assessment and dards, which state that the VDR should OCIMF’s report points to a number of OCIMF does note that there are a number analysis.” “continuously maintain sequential records different research projects that helped to of challenges still to be overcome before In an era when digital data storage has of preselected data items relating to status establish a link between proactive analysis more advanced use of VDR data might be become so cheap that a 1 terabyte disk and output of the ship's equipment and of voyage data (i.e. regular analysis taking seen as a viable option for the industry at drive can be bought at a retail computer command and control of the ship.” place before any incident has occurred) large, both on the technology side and in store for less than $100, this seems like an These include Date and Time; Ship’s and improved safety. terms of practical ship operations. unnecessary limitation. If that data could Position; Speed; Heading; Bridge Audio; These research results prompted the On the technology side, OCIMF’s be used to improve operations or prevent Communications Audio; Radar data and International Civil Aviation Organisation report says that “some VDRs only receive an accident it may also prove to be an Echo Sounder, as well as a range of other sta- (ICAO) to add an amendment to its own data from a single unit of each type of expensive limitation. tus information about various ship systems. regulations to require that “an operator of equipment, such as one of the radars or OCIMF’s report offers its own potential In theory, this information should be an aeroplane of maximum certificated one VHF set, when multiple units are solutions, noting that external units to examined after any accident involving the take-off weight in excess of 27,000kg shall installed.” integrate with the VDR and extend the ship, to, as IMO suggests, “permit subse- establish and maintain a flight data analy- This is obviously a less than optimal data record to 90 days are available for quent analysis of factors surrounding an sis programme as part of its accident pre- arrangement, and OCIMF suggests that approximately $3,000, while modern sat- incident” and, hopefully, assist the indus- vention and flight safety programme.” “consideration should be given to provid- com systems could also allow companies try at large in making sure that any mis- OCIMF believes that the maritime ing separate feeds to the VDR from each to manage the transmission of 20-30 MB of takes that may have occurred can be pre- industry should consider the possibility of item of equipment.” daily data required to shore without vented from happening again. taking a similar approach, noting in its Also, the report points to the fact that breaking the bank. However, in its report OCIMF suggests report that while it took the aviation since, in most cases, VDR data is not The report also points out that “the reg- VDR data is often found to be “incom- industry “some 20 to 30 years to fully examined until an incident has occurred, ular download of data also has the benefit plete” and notes that the potential benefits appreciate and realise the potential bene- “it is not uncommon to find that the VDR of providing a check that all data inputs of the regulation are reduced as a result. fits from routine analysis of FDR data … was not fully operational at the time of the are functioning correctly.” The association recommends that a similar benefits are available to the mar- incident and that some or all of the data OCIMF’s list of recommendations greater level of attention is given to the col- itime industry.” was not recorded correctly.” makes a lot of sense in terms of promoting lection and analysis of VDR data, and says The software used in today’s VDR sys- This problem of lost data can also be a continuing cycle of improvement at a that an opportunity to collect good data tems could be programmed to detect compounded by the fact that the perform- shipping company. showing how the navigation of the ship is trends or significant events in the data that ance standards for VDR only require data An improved level of data gathering actually performed is being lost. is being collected based on a defined set of to be stored for 12 hours – older data may and analysis will certainly help to identify This data could be analysed to provide parameters, and that the data could help simply be overwritten and lost forever. any areas of weakness, allowing for cor- feedback learning to prevent incidents, to identify behaviours that could poten- Another OCIMF recommendation is rective measures to be taken. Continued and as such OCIMF is advocating that tially lead to accidents before they occur. that shipping companies undertake “a data analysis following these corrective such data collection should be a normal For example, various combinations of central assessment of information from all measures can help to judge their effective- part of safety management. vessel speed and heading could be com- ships in (the) fleet (to enable) the correlation ness, or otherwise – allowing them to be There is plenty of scope for improve- bined with AIS (Automatic Identification of occurrences of events which may be asso- refined and improved. ment – figures from Intertanko, the System) and electronic chart data to illus- ciate, for example, with particular ports, An iterative process like this would be International Association of Independent trate the way a ship is being handled in Masters, pilots or weather conditions.” sure to improve safety in shipping – exact- Tanker Owners, show that collisions, con- particular circumstances, and compared However, the association notes that the ly the reason why VDR technology was tacts or groundings have consistently with other ships to see if best practices are 12-hour data storage limitation would also introduced in the first place. DS
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Conferences and Exhibitions
Don’t miss out on the premier events in the shipping industry: make a date in your diary for our forthcoming conferences and exhibitions
Digital Ship JAPAN 3 - 4 September 2013, Capitol Hotel Tokyu, Tokyo
Digital Ship SINGAPORE 1 - 2 October 2013, Suntec, Singapore
Digital Ship HONG KONG 30 - 31 October 2013, KITEC, Kowloon
Digital Ship ATHENS 27 - 28 November 2013 Metropolitan Hotel, Athens
Digital Ship HAMBURG 5 - 6 February 2014 , Magnushall, Hamburg
Digital Ship SCANDINAVIA 5 - 6 March 2014 , Grieghallen, Bergen
Digital Ship CYPRUS 9 - 10 April 2014, Grand Resort, Limassol
Digital Ship KOREA 13 - 14 May 2014, BEXCO, Busan
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION The importance of BNWAS
As mandatory requirements for bridge navigational watch alarm systems (BNWAS) begin to be phased in over the next few years, recent accident reports have shown how this technology could offer a simple, yet effective way to prevent many maritime accidents
he summer of 2013 marked the first Bute. The grounding resulted in signifi- TTanniversary of the introduction of cant damage to the forward section of the mandatory fitting requirements vessel, including minor breaches to the for bridge navigational watch alarm sys- forward ballast tanks. tems (BNWAS) on certain types of vessels. At about 0240 the chief officer, who was On vessels of 3000GT and above, all on watch at the time, had dismissed the new and existing ships built on or after 1 ordinary seaman who was on lookout July 2002, in accordance with the amend- duties; shortly afterwards he left the ments made to SOLAS Chapter V bridge himself. The bridge was unmanned Regulation 19 through the IMO’s Marine from that time until the vessel grounded at Safety Committee resolution 282(86), 0443. The chief officer was subsequently were required to have a system installed found in his cabin. by 1 July 2012. The vessel had two independent bridge A BNWAS is an onboard alerting sys- watch alarms, which should have warned tem which monitors bridge activity to of the fact that the bridge was not manned detect operator incapacity. for this period, but neither of them was in An OOW is required to either reset the use at the time. The power to the voyage system regularly or operate navigation data recorder had also been switched off equipment within certain time intervals. If nearly two weeks before the accident. the system is not reset as required, visual The prescribed performance standard and audible alarms are generated on the for BNWAS requires that it should have The Beaumont ran aground on Cabo Negro. Photo MAIB bridge. three modes of operation: ’manual ON (in If the OOW does not respond, the operation constantly), ‘manual OFF’ (does alarm is transferred to other areas of the not operate under any circumstances) and The MAIB carried out function tests of of the watch alarms on the bridge been vessel to notify crew members of the ‘automatic’ activation based on input from the system and established that it worked switched on, the absence of the bridge OOW’s incapacity. the vessel’s heading or track control system. correctly in both the ‘manual ON’ mode watchkeepers would have been detected The potential safety benefits of such a It is also required that access to the sys- and the ‘manual OFF’ mode. and this accident could have been avoided. system are obvious, in making sure that an tem be password protected, with the pass- Coastal Isle was originally fitted with a To try and stop this kind of incident active and attentive watchkeeper is present word available to only the master. watch alarm that could be set to give an reoccurring the vessel operators have now on the bridge at all times – and the poten- The MAIB report notes that Coastal Isle alarm after 1. 5min, 3min or 12min of dor- connected the new BNWAS to the autopi- tial consequences of not having this tech- had installed a new BNWAS system from mant time. lot system and set it up so that the pass- nology available is clearly illustrated in Martek Marine on 14 June 2012, called MAIB notes that it was a simple on / word is available only in offices on shore. some recent accident investigation reports. Navgard, which complied with the off system that had no facility to operate The excellent reports produced by the BNWAS requirement. However, during automatically. When the system was Beaumont UK’s Marine Accident Investigation installation, the terminals for connecting switched on, the watch alarm sounded on The lack of an operational BNWAS was Branch (MAIB) have recently included the to the autopilot system could not be iden- the bridge after the set dormant time; if also a key factor in the grounding of the cases of the vessels Coastal Isle (Marine tified and therefore the BNWAS could not not cancelled within a certain time, the 2545gt dry cargo vessel Beaumont, which Casualty Report No 9/2013) and be set up to work in the automatic mode. general alarm would sound. ran aground on Cabo Negro on the north Beaumont (Report No 14/2013), both of The master on board at the time of the At the time of the accident, this system, Spanish coast while on passage from La which were involved in groundings that accident did not know how to switch on or although fully functional, was switched Coruña to Avilés at 0308 UTC on 12 could have been prevented if an opera- set the system. His predecessor had off. There were no written instructions on December 2012. tional BNWAS had been in place. received instruction from Martek Marine board concerning its use; it was left to the According to MAIB’s report on the inci- technicians when the system was commis- watchkeepers to use it at their discretion. dent, Beaumont was sailing with the min- Coastal Isle sioned, but these had not been passed on. As MAIB describes it, after the lookout imum permitted safe manning of six. The As reported by MAIB, on 2 July 2012, After successful commissioning, the was dismissed, the chief officer was alone vessel’s two navigating officers, the mas- while on passage from Belfast to system was not turned on and the original, on the bridge and he could have then ter and chief officer, shared navigational Greenock, the 89m feeder container vessel default password set by Martek Marine switched on the vessel’s original watch watches equally, with the master on watch Coastal Isle ran aground on the Island of was never changed. alarm as protection against the hazards of between 0600 – 1200 and 1800 – 2400. single watchkeeping; however, he chose Following his handover to the master not to use it. the chief officer went below and, at In addition, the new BNWAS compli- around 1900, went to bed. By that time the ant watch alarm, though functional, was deckhands had completed their prepara- not switched on after it was installed. tion of the cargo holds and at about 1930 Both watch alarms were capable of the master’s night lookout (deckhand 1) warning the rest of the crew if the bridge joined him on the bridge. watchkeeper was absent or asleep; MAIB During his watch the master monitored says that, had either been in use, this acci- Beaumont’s progress along the naviga- dent probably would not have happened. tional track using an electronic chart sys- MAIB also notes that it was not possible tem (ECS), and he plotted the vessel’s to determine exactly why the original position on the paper chart used for navi- watch alarm was not used, but it was con- gation every two hours. The vessel’s sidered most likely that it was used so course was maintained by an autopilot. infrequently it had been forgotten. Two radars, one of which was set on In light of these circumstances the the 6 mile range scale and the other on the report’s conclusion is that the Coastal Isle 12 mile range, were operational but no ran aground because there was no one on guard zones had been set. An onboard the bridge to correct the vessel’s heading echo sounder was not switched on, nor, The Coastal Isle also ran aground, on the island of Bute. Photo: MAIB when it was set off course, and had either crucially, was the installed BNWAS.
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Digital Ship
At about 0055, MAIB notes that the introduction of BNWAS, a simple technol- render it barely audible. chief officer was required to call the Avilés ogy that should have quickly identified MAIB’s report concludes that, in light pilot to provide information about the fact that there was nobody on the of these facts, the vessel operator should Beaumont’s expected arrival time, but it bridge keeping an attentive watch. have required the appropriate use of navi- slipped his mind. While Beaumont was equipped with a gational aids and ensured that the Around 0130, the chief officer, like the BNWAS, specifically designed and fitted BNWAS was operational at all times while master before him, sent his lookout below to alert or draw attention to an incapaci- at sea, to ensure that all the available safe- to rest in the mess deck. When deckhand 2 tated OOW, the vessel’s managers did not guards for maintaining a proper watch left the bridge, the chief officer was seated specifically require the BNWAS to be in were in place. on what MAIB describes as a “comfortable operation at sea. Consequently, the shipping company port side bridge chair” and the starboard Consequently, as MAIB notes, it has now revised its SMS to require the use bridge wing door was about 75mm ajar. was seldom, if ever, used by the bridge of BNWAS when vessels are underway At 0308, Beaumont ran aground on watchkeepers. and, where technically possible, linked Cabo Negro, at a speed of 11.5 knots. In addition to BNWAS, MAIB’s analysis BNWAS systems with autopilots so that Following the accident, MAIB reports points to the other navigational aids fitted the watch keeping alarm is operational that the chief officer recalled attempting to on the ship also featured with alarm func- whenever the autopilot is in use. call the Avilés pilot at 0155 and again tions that, if used effectively, could have shortly after 0200, receiving no reply, provided additional stimulation to prevent Conclusions though no calls from Beaumont were The BNWAS control panel the chief officer from falling asleep. The two MAIB reports described above heard by Avilés pilot station. on the Beaumont – the system was Both radars had guard zone facilities cover just two incidents within six months The vessel’s position at 0200 was not switched on. Photo: MAIB which could have been set to alarm if tar- of each other where the application of sim- recorded on the chart, and the report says gets such as land or vessels came within a ple technology systems could have pre- that the chief officer thought he fell asleep watch due to lack of stimulation and prob- predetermined range. vented costly accidents. shortly after 0200. able fatigue. The echo sounder, which the SMS stip- There are undoubtedly many more Following the grounding the master Lack of stimulation occurred as a result ulated was to be used, was not switched similar cases around the world that would ran to the bridge, where he found the chief of being alone in a quiet, cosy bridge envi- on. It too had an alarm function which further demonstrate the benefit of having officer still asleep. He roused him and ronment where none of the available safe- could have been set to activate if the under a system like BNWAS installed on board simultaneously placed the engine control guards had been utilised. The chief offi- keel clearance reduced to less than a pre- a vessel. to neutral. cer’s fatigue would appear to be a result of determined setting, as it would have done By this time next year, in July 2014, all The chief officer awoke confused and the change to his pattern of work and rest as the vessel approached the shore. cargo vessels over 150 gt will be required to was shocked to find that the ship was on the day preceding the grounding. The ECS’s cross-track error facility have a BNWAS in place by the time they aground, though MAIB notes that there MAIB suggests that it is likely that the detected when the vessel strayed more are presented for their next annual survey. was no indication that the chief officer chief officer fell asleep within two hours of than 1 cable distance from her planned Hopefully, more widespread use of the was under the influence of alcohol or any taking over the navigational watch from route, prompting audible and visual technology will prove to be a significant other narcotic. the master. alarms. The ECS alarm was sounding step forward in reducing the frequency of MAIB’s analysis of the incident sug- Situations such as these precisely and flashing at the time of the accident accidents such as those that occurred to gested that the chief officer fell asleep on demonstrate the reasoning behind the but the volume had been adjusted to the Beaumont and the Coastal Isle. DS I can see CLEARLY now!
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION The case for early ECDIS While the mandatory ECDIS implementation schedule is still only in its earliest stages, an increasing number of shipping companies are getting in early and installing the equipment ahead of the deadline. Two shipping companies in Italy and India told Digital Ship about why they have moved to paperless navigation
talian shipping company Nav- mentation of new equipment and proce- on board.” Transas Navi Sailor 4000 as its primary IIigazione Montanari currently owns dures is always accompanied with the “The Pay-as-you-sail (method of licens- source of navigation. and operates a fleet of 28 vessels, training requirements for our staff so as to ing also) appears to be a welcome idea to “We chose Transas as they are one of comprising nine Aframax tankers and 19 experience and utilise the full potential of help reduce costs of procuring charts. The the leading ECDIS manufacturers with a oil / chemical tankers. changes incorporated,” he said. same shall be considered for the future, vast expertise and customer experience in While most of the fleet trades on a “However, easy availability of Transas beginning with a trial period to confirm ECDIS installation and use, which would worldwide basis, a few are trading within training centres both in Italy and India, our usage costs reductions. We are already definitely benefit us,” MrIrani explained. the Mediterranean. where all our staff is employed from, applying it on retrofits.” “Also, since Transas has an office in The company is currently in the process helped us resolve this issue. Furthermore, Singapore where our ships normally of rolling out ECDIS to its entire fleet of the user friendly interfaces used were an Five Star Shipping bunker, it would be a proper hub for ships, and reports some significant bene- additional advantage. The Transas train- Like Navigazione Montanari, Five Star maintenance and upgrade that would be fits of using the technology via its experi- ing centres help us in complying with both Shipping Company, based in Mumbai, economical.” ences on the vessels installed so far. generic and type specific training under a India, operates mainly on a global basis, In addition to its improved chart updat- “The biggest advantage of having single schedule.” and has also decided to equip its vessels ing capabilities, Mr Irani has also seen that ENCs is the additional and un-interrupted “As the Transas ECDIS was installed on with ECDIS technology. the ECDIS equipment installed on the time available to the navigator for keeping board nine of our vessels prior to yard The company operates a fleet of seven company’s ships has offered a range of a safe lookout without the need of visiting delivery, our officers were imparted with bulk carriers consisting of cape size and safety and operational benefits when it separate chart rooms for plotting vessel the ECDIS training in the shipyard itself. panamax size vessels. Vessels are on long comes to managing vessel voyages. positions on paper charts,” explained Capt Subsequent staff were trained in shore term charter, mainly spot trading, carry- “ECDIS and ENCs have improved navi- Savio Fernandes, marine superintendent based training centres which were ing grain, coal, iron ore and fertilizers, and gational safety and risk management as the at Navigazione Montanari. equipped with Transas Simulators as their cover routes worldwide. vessel is monitored in real time and vari- “This delegation to an electronic system training equipment. Effectiveness of the One of the most important drivers for ous alarms warn the navigating officers allows navigating officers to focus on training carried out was verified during Five Star to press ahead with implementa- before encountering any navigational haz- other critical tasks, i.e. collision risk assess- ship visits by our Marine ards,” he said. ment and avoidance. This automatically Superintendents.” “Voyage planning using enhances navigational safety.” Capt Fernandes says that the ECDIS has become more easy “Six of our Aframaxes and oil / chemi- company’s goal of improving nav- and flexible. Additional infor- cal vessels are fitted with the Transas Navi igational safety has been achieved mation can be obtained easily Sailor 4000 ECDIS, on these vessels it is on the vessels where it has imple- at the click of a button.” used for primary navigation. As per our mented ECDIS to date, and points “The Radar and AIS target planned schedule we intend to install the to some specific examples of overlay on ECDIS makes navi- Transas ECDIS on our entire fleet.” where the technology has been of gation easier in coastal and The company’s decision to adopt ECDIS benefit in this regard. restricted waters. The tangible has been driven by a need to keep up to “When a radar image is over- benefit of ECDIS is mainly the date with the latest navigational technolo- laid on top of an ENC chart image, anti-grounding features and at gies, to promote the highest possible level uncharted hazards such as other any given instant tells the navi- of safety, according to Capt Fernandes. ships are shown on the same dis- The Five Star Shipping vessel Maha Anosha has dual ECDIS on board gator ‘where you are and how He welcomes the mandatory implemen- play as charted hazards such as far you can safely go’.” tation of ECDIS as a positive step from the shoals relative to the ship’s posi- In terms of training, Five Star IMO in enhancing navigational safety, and tion. This is a significant help for the watch- tion of ECDIS on its newly delivered ves- officers undertake both the standard IMO believes it will indirectly improve the per- keeper in assessing the overall traffic situa- sels ahead of the mandatory carriage generic ECDIS course as well as type specif- formance of watchkeeping officers and tion in relation to navigational hazards. In requirement was the equipment’s ability to ic training before being allowed to operate encourage safe navigational practices. addition, a radar image of a fixed object streamline the chart updating process, as the systems on board the company’s ships. “ECDIS and ENCs are the future of mod- can be compared with the same charted Kayhan J Irani, deputy general manager at “Training is very important in safe ern technology aided navigational methods, object to confirm the integrity of the posi- Five Star Shipping Company, explains. handling and use of ECDIS, and all our leading to more safer voyages and replacing tion and heading sensors,” he explained. “Although ECDIS was not mandatory, masters and deck officers are trained on the old conventional methods. This was the “Automatic Identification System (AIS) during our first yard delivery in 2009 we IMO model 1.27 course from an approved foregoing thought for deciding to adopt integration assists in identifying other ships felt that there was a need to upgrade institute,” said Mr Irani. ECDIS and ENCs,” he said. in the vicinity, plus additional information ourselves with the latest technology,” he “Familiarisation on Transas ECDIS is “Our objective was to identify and that may be available from electronic aids told us, “and so we opted to install also done. Since all our vessels have the implement the most suitable ECDIS for to navigation such as virtual buoyage.” ECDIS as primary and secondary means same type of ECDIS, the officers in rota- our fleet. While making the transition to “Also, NAVTEX alerts can be received of navigation on our vessels.” tion are quite familiar with the system. electronic navigation we had to ensure directly on the ECDIS display thus alert- “The main business objective was to get We also send the officers to institutes that the complete benefits of ENCs were ing the OOW, and various navigational up-to-date charts on the go rather than which have the same ECDIS so that they available on a reliable and stable system.” alarms incorporated in the ECDIS help in having to procure paper charts from port.” are more familiar and trained with the “Our extensive market research helped alerting the OOW thereby enhancing nav- “With last minute fixtures, ENC charts equipment and the functions.” convince us that Transas were the market igational safety.” can be procured at a click of a button any- “In addition we have ECDIS familiari- leaders with very few problems experi- From a business point of view, Capt where in the world and also can be updat- sation training on board which forms part enced with the systems even when ECDIS Fernandes also notes that the switch to ed instantly.” of our shipboard procedure manual.” was not made mandatory. We had to how- ECDIS has led to a reduction in costs with Five Star has also examined the potential In short, Mr Irani believes that imple- ever first ensure that Transas was also regard to navigational charts. benefits of Pay As You Sail licensing, and menting ECDIS has benefitted the business included in the list of flag-state approved “Changing over to ECDIS and ENCs Mr Irani notes that for his company, with in a variety of ways – through efficient ECDIS manufacturers.” has definitely decreased our chart expen- vessels tramping all over the world on route and voyage planning, better chart Capt Fernandes notes that making this ditures, especially when we had to make unpredictable trade patterns, it does seem management, an improved display of nav- switch also introduced significant chal- available paper charts at ports where an to make economic sense, though savings igational information and a higher level of lenges for the company in training its authorised chart supplier was not avail- are dependent on the actual voyage routes. integration between bridge systems. seagoing staff, most of whom had never able, thereby incurring considerable Five Star’s ships have been equipped “Our goal to increase the safety of nav- used ECDIS. amounts in logistics,” he explained. with dual ECDIS systems, to allow them igation and reduce the work load of offi- “As per our risk assessment and man- “Another important fact is that we to sail paperless. Similar to Navigazione cers on board is being achieved by
agement of change procedures, any imple- are saving a big amount of working hours Montanari , the company also opted for ECDIS,” he said. DS
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ELECTRONICS & NAVIGATION The future of differential positioning services?
Satellite-based augmentation of positioning information has begun to become available across many parts of the world in the last couple of decades – perhaps the time is right for the maritime industry to adopt this technology, writes Dr Andy Norris
t is interesting to see that the US Coast Part of the good thinking on the mar- SBAS has been designed to be able to pro- coastal states would perhaps not normally IIGuard is analysing the current and itime DGPS and DGLONASS concept was vide the extremely high integrity needed in provide GBAS signals. future user needs of the US Nation- to choose the 300 kHz LF band for the the aviation field, even allowing it to be used In other areas, GBAS coverage would wide Differential GPS service, as recently transmission of the differential signals. as the position fix for the auto-landing of be maintained as today. announced in the Federal Register. This band was being used by radio bea- passenger aircraft, albeit in good conditions. IMO could issue revised standards for Differential services are recognised by cons in the days before full GNSS cover- However, such use of SBAS takes par- new GNSS receivers, mandating an SBAS IMO, with performance standards for age, enabling navigators to obtain direc- ticular benefit from the very clear view compatibility with defined minimum fea- DGPS and DGLONASS receivers being tional fixes on their transmissions. that aircraft generally have of the sky in all tures. In SBAS coverage areas this would agreed in 2000. The reuse of this band considerably phases of the flight. It means that even at give differential standards of positional high latitudes, geostationary satellites accuracy and integrity to all ships fitted remain in view, except in very special cir- with the new equipment, without needing cumstances, such as when landing close to a separate differential receiver. a mountainous area. For coastal areas that are within SBAS Ships also normally have a good view coverage but have known issues with line- of the sky. But this is not always the case, of-sight to the differential signal, the for instance, when entering some ports coastal state would need to consider main- and when operating close to high terrain. taining an LF differential beacon and, as In contrast, the one kilometre wave- today, vessels could opt to carry a differ- length of the 300 kHz maritime GBAS sig- ential receiver to access them. nal enables it to negotiate obstacles partic- Where SBAS is unavailable, either due ularly well, generally resulting in an to fundamental coverage limitations or extremely reliable differential signal even because of screening of the SBAS geosta- when there is no line-of-sight. tionary satellite, the receiver would appro- In fact, many type approved GNSS priately alert the user. receivers installed on vessels today are SBAS is already in use across the globe. Photo: Persimplex SBAS enabled. This is because the facility Potential benefits is embedded into most receiver chips By adopting such a strategy all ships manufactured today – although it is not would eventually have a differential capa- Such systems are not a mandatory helped the cost effective implementation of always activated on particular receivers. bility in SBAS coverage areas, giving the fit, except on SOLAS High Speed Craft. differential services, as the new system used benefits of differential GNSS in those areas It is difficult to estimate the number of the same coastal masts and other equipment. A case to change to all vessels – and not just those fitted vessels worldwide that actually have sys- to SBAS? with a GBAS differential receiver. tems on board, although it is far from Satellite based From a performance point of view the Since the mandatory requirements being uncommon. augmentation systems existing maritime differential service is cer- would probably only apply to the fitment DGPS initially came about because In parallel with conventional ground- tainly excellent but it does come at a cost. of new receivers, the benefits would effec- Selective Availability was being applied based differential systems, the idea of In the US alone there are 49 coastal tively come at no cost to shipowners, as to the GPS signal, purposefully limiting using satellites to broadcast differential DGPS stations, each needing an LF trans- well as giving much reduced costs for its accuracy for civilian users to about and integrity information was also being mitter and associated mast, in addition to many coastal states. 100 metres. developed during the 1990s. other equipment, such as that needed to Because of the potential cost savings to However, a ground station with known This concept is now often termed satel- ascertain the current positional errors. governments, not least by recognising the position could readily determine the par- lite-based augmentation systems (SBAS) – SBAS also monitors position from common requirements for maritime and ticular range offset being applied by SA to with ground based augmentation systems ground-based stations but they do not need aviation, SOLAS adoption of SBAS may the signal of each satellite and transmit (GBAS) becoming a group name for sys- the large additional expense of an LF trans- also serve to increase its coverage into this information to users’ DGPS receivers, tems such as DGPS and DGLONASS. mitter. Fewer stations are required because other national areas. enabling an automatic correction of their Ground stations are still used by SBAS they work as an integrated group. For If adopted, great care would need to be GPS position. to ascertain positional corrections but the instance, WAAS uses only 25 to give cover- taken in the siting of GNSS antennas on This considerably improved the accura- offset and integrity data is sent to users’ age over the whole of the United States. vessels in order to optimise the reception cy of GPS – to generally better than 5 receivers by satellite. Furthermore, the satellite service is not of the SBAS differential signal. metres. But in 2000 the US abandoned the Geostationary satellites are typically hugely expensive to operate. This is evi- Also, better consideration of the inte- application of SA, allowing a modern used for this on a carrier frequency identi- denced by the fact that the first satellite- grated use of two or more GNSS receivers stand-alone GPS receiver to have an accu- cal to that of the main GNSS signal, so that based differential systems that came into should be made to ensure that the primary racy typically rather better than 10 metres. they can be picked-up by the same anten- being in the 1990s were commercial servic- position fix at any one time was from a With the removal of SA, differential na and receiver as used for the primary es offering reasonable subscriber rates to a receiver whose antenna was not masked systems started to achieve accuracies of positioning service. relatively small number of specialist users. from receiving the SBAS signal by the ves- around 2 metres, which today can be con- In North America the specific system is The user equipment costs for SBAS are sel’s infrastructure. siderably bettered by specialist systems. known as the Wide Area Augmentation also lower, just needing a relatively stan- Of course, this would not help when By 2000, the other benefits of DGPS System, WAAS. Europe’s system is known dard GNSS receiver and not needing spe- the satellite transmitting the SBAS signal were also being appreciated, not least in as the European Geostationary Navigation cialist hardware to additionally receive the is masked by the surrounding geography providing greater integrity to positioning. Overlay Service, EGNOS. Similar systems differential signal. of the area. Ground stations could rapidly identify are available or under development in With this in mind, maybe an answer for Solely from a performance point of view malfunctioning satellites and prevent other parts of the world, including Japan, the future of maritime services is to go for the retention of GBAS is certainly favoured receivers from using data from these in China and India. a hybrid implementation. In SBAS-cov- but by adopting SBAS it potentially pro- their calculation of position. Improved The accuracy of such systems is typical- ered areas and where the augmentation vides substantial savings in overall cost warnings of possible positional errors ly quoted as 7 metres but, in practice, is signal is not obscured by the terrain, and an increased uptake in its use. DS could be given to the user generally rather better. In addition, differential systems would Although they have been particularly Dr Andy orris has been well-known in the maritime navigation industry for a automatically compensate for inaccuracies attractive to the requirements of the avia- number of years. He has spent much of his time managing high-tech navigation caused by anomalous atmospheric propa- tion sector, they have not been officially companies but now he is working on broader issues within the navigational gation, at least for receivers relatively adopted for SOLAS use. world, providing both technical and business consultancy to the industry, gov- close to the ground station. This initially appears surprising since ernmental bodies and maritime organizations. Email: [email protected]
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